The Escape
by Chuni Luni
Summary: Somehow a girl who has given up on the world is transported in to the world of Naruto. :sigh: The end has come...
1. How it all began

**The Escape**

**Authoress note/disclaimer:** Ok everyone you know the drill. I don't own anything of Naruto all I own is my laptop and my cruddy fan fics. Oh I also own Dakota, the man, and the horrible story I threw them in to…(sigh) Anyways there's the disclaimer so all that leaves is my notes. This story revolves around the OC Dakota that I created. If you don't like OC's then go and read somethin else. For now this is all there is going to be of this story unless I get at least one review...or I might just put some more up anyways. Well that's it for now. I hope you enjoy this. R and R please!

* * *

For as long as Dakota could remember she had dreamed of a place where everything was different from the life she lived here. Here would be in California. Some people thought that Cali was the perfect place to live. That nothing bad happened there. What they don't understand is that Cali isn't a perfect place. 

No it like many other states and countries has its problems and unfortunately, Dakota experienced some the these troubles everyday since the day she was born. When she was younger she would dream of people coming to rescue her but then after years of hoping and nothing happening she finally quit knowing that no one cared about what happened to her. All they cared about was there selves

------

It was late at night and a storm raged over the city. Dakota ran down the streets through the pounding rain blinded by water and blood. Somehow over the sound of the pounding rain she was able to hear the pounding footsteps behind her. Knowing he was catching up she willed her body to go faster. Then suddenly she was falling to the ground. She landed hard and felt someone grab her.

"NO!" She cried in fear and struggled to get away.

The man who was holding her was to strong. He said in a gruff voice "I'm really getting tiered of this Dakota. I thought you would have learned by now." Dakota shuddered at the coldness in his voice. He tightened his grip and she cried out in pain. "Now this time I'm going to make it absolutely sure you understand." He forced Dakota on to her back and in the light of a nearby streetlight she saw he held a knife in his free hand.

Her eyes widened as she said in a terrified voice "No please! I - I won't try to get away anymore!" She watched in horror as the man drew his arm back and plunged the knife downward. Pain shot through her shoulder then darkness filled her vision and that was all she knew.

------

Voices woke her and once she was awake pain engulfed her. Gasping she moved her arms to clutch her head and instantly cried out in pain. Opening her eyes a few minutes latter she saw three people looking down at her. Her eyes widened who were these people? Moving to sit up Dakota let out another cry of pain.

"You shouldn't sit up you're still to injured."

Once the jolt of pain passed she asked "Who are you?"

Two of the men looked at the third who was the oldest. "He is a medic-nin, this is Iruka Umino, and you may call me the Hokage."

Dakota slowly raised her hand to her face and rubbed her eyes. 'OK what the heck are these guys wearing?' she thought as she studied each man in turn. "Where am I?" She asked once she finished studying them.

"You are in the village hidden in the leaves."

"I'm where!" She cried sitting up. The medic-nin tried to push her back down but Dakota wouldn't let him. Ignoring her swimming vision she looked at the Hokakge.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"Yes! How'd I get here?" She asked starting to panic.

"I found you in the forest." The man known as Iruka said.

'Forest? There aren't any forests anywhere near where I had been before I blacked out.' She thought.

"Do you know how you ended up there?" The Hokage asked.

Dakota shook her head and said "The last thing I remember is I was in the city...almost to the police station...then he tackled me and..." A dark look crossed her face and she said angrily "I almost got away but he caught me."

Iruka looked worried "Who?" He asked.

She opened her mouth to answer but stopped. She couldn't say who it was he'd kill her if she did. Closing her mouth she laid back down and turned her head to stare at the wall.

The Hokage realizing they wouldn't be getting anymore information out of her for the time being said "Alright let her rest for now." The three men then left the room.

'What am I going to do now?' She thought as she stared at the wall.


	2. A real home

**The Escape**

**Authoress note/disclaimer:** Well I'm only going to do this one more time. This disclaimer also counts for any other chapters of this story. Now that's done I'll get on with my note. Here's the second part to The Escape. If you didn't like the first part that's your problem. But hey if you didn't like it why are you reading this? It's the second part...so if you don't like it go away. As I'm sure you noticed in the first part I have problems with punctuation and sometimes spelling and grammar. All I can say is please bear with me. I try to catch all the mistakes but some slip past. and truthfully I'm horrible with punctuation...um well...anyways R and R please!

* * *

It's now been a week since Dakota awoke in this strange place. During that week she had been questioned numerous times. They asked her about where she had come from, how she'd gotten there, and how she had been injured. Dakota had answered one of the three and that was the question of what her name was. She had no clue how she had gotten to the village and she wasn't going to say a word about how she was injured. 

One afternoon Iruka and the Hokage came in. "Dakota how are you feeling today?" The Hokage asked.

"I'm OK I guess...considering." She said motioning to the numerous bandages that were visible under the pajamas that had been given to her by the medic-nin.

"Very good. Now I've come here today because you're well enough to leave here."

She looked up at him with wide eyes and asked "Where will I go?"

"Well Iruka and I have talked about you staying with him."

"Only if you want to." Iruka said.

Dakota sat in silence for a few minutes thinking. 'Out of this whole world these two guys are the only people I know. Where else can I go? If I stay with Iruka I'll at least be with someone who knows a little about me.' Coming to a decision she gave them a small smile and said "Sure I'd love to stay with you Iruka."

He smiled and said holding a bag out to her "I had a friend of mine get you some clothes to wear until you're well enough to go and buy some."

"Thanks."

"We'll leave now so you can get dressed." The Hokage said.

Once the door closed Dakota began the slow painful process of standing up. In the bag she found a pair of pants, a shirt, undergarments, and toiletries. It took her twenty minutes to get dressed. It hurt so much to bend over that she had to move slowly.

Once dressed and cleaned up she went to the door and opened it. Iruka and the Hokage were standing there waiting patiently. "Ready?" Iruka asked. She nodded and he turned to the Hokage. "Well I guess we'll see you latter."

The Hokage nodded and said "If any trouble arises don't hesitate to come to me for help."

"Thank you for everything." Dakota said with a small smile.

------

Iruka's house was a modest two story in a really nice neighborhood. It looked really well taken care of. He smiled down at her and said "Come on I'll show you to your room." She returned his smile and followed him in to the house. He led her upstairs and down the hall to the very last room. "Here you go." Iruka said opening the door for her. Inside was a queen sized bed, a desk, and a dresser. Dakota went in and sat down on the bed.

It had only been ten minutes since she left the Hokage's tower but she was exhausted. Iruka being the observant guy he was noticed this and said "Why don't you lay down for a while." She was to sore and tiered to speak so she just laid down and closed her eyes. Smiling Iruka left the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

Most people wouldn't have taken in a girl who appeared to come out of no where but Iruka wasn't like a lot of other people. He actually cared and he felt bad for her. She was covered in knife wounds, scrapes, and bruises. From what the medic-nin told him Dakota was lucky to be alive and that once she did heal (which was going to take a while) she would have numerous scars.

Several hours latter Dakota awoke and looked around the room wondering what had made her wake up. Then a growling sound reached her ears. It was her stomach. Sighing she got up and slowly made her way down stairs. It took her a few minutes to find and then make her way to the kitchen. Iruka was standing at the stove cooking something. "Hi!" She said.

He turned and said "Oh good you're just in time for dinner. Have a seat." He pointed to the four seater table that was to her left.

It had taken Dakota a day or two to get used to using chopsticks and eating Japanese food. She never had it before but she liked it. Iruka sat down a bowl of soup in front of her and sat down. Dakota was still a little clumsy with chopsticks and saw Iruka trying to hide his smile as she dropped her food a couple of times. "Hey cut me some slack! I'm not used to chopsticks." She said.

"I know and I'm sorry but it's just funny." He said smiling. She couldn't help but smile back. She did look kind of funny.

------

The next morning Dakota finally got to do the one thing she'd wanted to do since she had woken up in the hospital. She finally got to take a bath. It took a few minutes to unwrap all of the bandages but once done she stepped in to the tub full of hot water. Slowly she lowered herself in to the water and hissed in pain as she submerged herself up to her neck.

The water stung her wounds but after a few minutes it subsided and she was able to allow the hot water to sooth her muscles. An hour latter she pulled the plug and dried herself off. It was a few minutes latter when she realized she had a problem. She was able to bandage all of her wounds except those in one major area. That area was her stomach, chest, and back. There was only one thing she could do. Covering her upper body with her towel she opened the door and called for Iruka.

"Is something wrong?" He asked as he came down the hallway.

"I need your help with my bandages."

Without hesitation he said "OK." She stepped away and opened the door all the way to allow him into the room. It took only seconds to notice she was dressed only from the waist down. Her top half was covered by a towel. Though it was a bit of a shock it passed quickly and he got to work with out making a single comment about it.

Dakota herself was uncomfortable but after a few minutes she relaxed. The only vibes she felt coming from him were friendly...sort of how she thought it may feel coming from a brother. When he finished he left to let her finish getting dressed. When she came down stairs she saw Iruka pulling his shoes on.

"I have to go to work. I'll be back by three. Go ahead and help your self to any thing you want. She nodded and he left.

Dakota spent a few hours wandering around the house but then had to sit down. The wound on her leg was bothering her. She sat down on the couch and stretched it out. Even though it hurt to do so it helped to ease the pain by stretching it.

Her entire left leg was wrapped in bandages. It was one of the largest wounds it went from her hip down to her ankle. She was lucky that he hadn't cut her leg open down to the bone. Though from what the medic-nin told her he had tried.

After a while she became restless and began to wander around the house once more. That's pretty much what she did for the next two weeks. One morning Iruka looked up from his breakfast to find her staring at him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

She sighed and said "Well it's just...there's nothing for me to do here."

He studied her for a few minutes then said "Well how about you come with me today."

Dakota looked at him surprised. "You can really do that?" She asked. He nodded and she said "In that case yes."


	3. Ninja Academy: The first day

**The Escape**

**Authoress note:** Well here's part three. I was so happy someone actually reviewed! Thank you gazer of life! I'm glad you thought it was interesting. There's one thing I want to mention about this chapter. There is a reference to sushi and for the record when Dakota tried it...well lets just say what went in came flying back out seconds latter lol. Needles to say Dakota didn't like it. Well enjoy and R and R please! Thanks!

* * *

Together they set out for the Ninja Academy. She ignored the stares she received from some of the villagers. They stared because she was still limping badly and some of her bandages stuck out from under her clothes. When they arrived at the academy he led her to his class room. There weren't any kids in it yet. 

She stood and looked around the room. Iruka watched her and when she noticed she said "Class rooms back home weren't like this. This is a lot better."

Then the bell rang so he didn't have a chance to respond. "Go ahead and take a seat where ever you want."

Dakota limped up to the last row of desks and sat down. She watched as the students began to enter. A few looked curiously up at her and whispered amongst them selves.

"Alright everyone quiet down. I'm sure you've noticed we have a new person among us." He said. Everyone turned to stare at her. Dakota shifted uncomfortably. "Her name is Dakota Kano and she will be joining us for a while. Now you've all done enough staring so lets get to work."

As Iruka lectured Dakota took her time looking at each of the students. From what he had told her they were all about the age of thirteen. Which meant they were a year younger than her. After a while her eyes landed on a boy who had a puppy laying on top of his head. That was odd.

As she watched the puppy turned to look at her. It wagged its tail and jumped from the boys head. Seconds latter it sat in her lap wagging it's tail happily. Dakota blinked surprised then smiled and petted the dog. "You're so cute."

------

"Time for lunch everyone." Iruka said as the bell rang a while latter.

It took a few minutes for Dakota to realize that someone was standing next to her. Looking up she saw it was the boy who the pup had been with. Smiling she asked "Hello does this little guy belong to you?"

The boy nodded and said "Yeah his names Akamaru."

"Well I know his name what about you?"

He studied her for a minute and said "I'm Kiba."

"Well Kiba it was really nice meeting you and Akamaru." She said scratching the pup between it's ears.

"Hey Dakota come and get your lunch. I brought you your favorite." Iruka called.

"Really?"

Smiling he said "Yup sushi."

A sick look crossed her face and she cried "No Iruka!" Kiba jumped surprised. He'd never seen someone freak over the mentioning of sushi.

Iruka smirked and said "Just kidding."

She shuddered and said "That was so mean Iruka! I told you to never mention that in front of me again!" His smirk turned in to a grin.

"Uh did you have a bad batch of sushi or something?" Kiba asked.

Once again Dakota shuddered. "That is the one thing in your world I will never eat again!" Then clutching Akamaru to her chest she side stepped Kiba and limped her way down to where Iruka was sitting at his desk.

"Aw Dakota it wasn't that bad."

She glared at him and said "Says you."

Sighing he said "Alright." Then handed her her lunch.

"Um...Dakota?" Kiba said. She turned to look at him and he said "I sorta need Akamaru back."

She looked down at the pup in her arms then back at him. "Oh sorry." she said handing him over. As he was leaving he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Dakota smacked Iruka on the head saying "Next time it'll be harder."

Confused he left the room. 'Who the heck is she? No student in their right mind would smack a teacher upside the head.' He wondered.

------

The rest of the day went well. Dakota sat in the back of the room and alternated between listening to Iruka and studying the students. The last bell of the day rang and Dakota stood up stiffly. She was so sick of her wounds but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"So how'd you like it?" Iruka asked as they walked home.

Smiling She said "I loved it. It was really interesting and Kiba seems really nice. His puppy is really cute."

"Really? You thought it was interesting?"

"Yup." They walked in silence for a while then she asked "Can I come again tomorrow?"

Iruka smiled and said "Of course."


	4. New friends

**The Escape**

**Authoress note:** Hello once again everyone! I just wanted to say thank you to all my reviewers. It means a lot to me when someone (besides friends and family) think my writing is good. I also want to apologize for my short chapters. No matter what I do they usually end up short like this. Also I don't know if I'll be able to keep updating as often as I have been. I'm in college now and got a lot of homework to do but I'll try my best.

OH! I just remembered I never told you guys what Dakota looks like. Well she's about 5" 2' and has silver hair (like kakashi's) and her eyes are really cool. There tricolord. If you don't know what that means it's where her eyes are three different colors. OK so the ring closest to her pupil is storm gray, the middle color is a silverish gray (a little darker than her hair), and the last ring is a pale gray. Cool huh:) um...I think that's all. If you wanna know more just ask me OK? Well enjoy the chapter and please R and R!

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The next day went like the day before except that after Dakota finished eating her lunch she became restless. "Why don't you go explore a little bit?" Iruka suggested. 

"Yeah that sounds like fun." She limped her way outside then stopped and looked around.

There were students standing and sitting all over the place. One thing she immediately noticed was there wasn't that many students compared to her old school. Heck back in her world her school was actually over the limit of students they were supposed to have. There were thousands...where ever you went there were kids.

It was really nice to have a school...er...academy that has only a few hundred students (I have no clue how many students there are actually so I just guessed). As she continued walking she spotted a boy from her class. He was all by himself sitting on a swing that was tied to a tree branch.

Dakota went up to him and smiling said "Hi it's Naruto right?"

The boy looked up and said "Yeah and you're Dakota right?"

"Yup." She said leaning against the tree trunk.

"Iruka-sensei said you're staying with him. Is that true?"

"Yeah since I didn't have any where to stay Iruka was nice enough to let me stay with him."

Naruto smiled and said "Iruka-sensei is really nice like that."

She nodded and he turned to look away from her. "Something wrong?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh no."

"You sure?" He nodded and turned away once more. Dakota studied him for a few minutes then it clicked. Naruto was sort of like her. They both wore masks though his seemed to be stronger than hers. She moved to stand beside him and bent down so their faces were at the same level.

Naruto jumped surprised and asked "What are you doing?"

She watched him for another minute then said "Nothing. I just wanted to see your face."

A look of surprise crossed his face and he asked "Why?"

"Well because I like to see my friends faces."

"Friend?"

"Yup" Dakota said smiling. Before he could say any thing the bell rang and Dakota said "Come on. Lets get to class." He nodded and they walked to class together.

As they walked she noticed something an even larger number of people were watching her. It took a minute to see Naruto seemed to be ignoring them like her and she knew they were staring at him also. After class she went down to wait for Iruka by his desk.

"Hey Iruka-sensei you wanna get something to eat?" Naruto asked coming up to the desk.

"Sure Naruto I'll treat. You wanna come Dakota?"

"Sure if you don't mind Naruto." He shook his head no. The three of them went down the a ramen stand to eat.

After they ordered Iruka started up a conversation. "So Naruto what have you been up to? I haven't heard anything from the Hokage does that mean you're behaving?" .

"I haven't done anything for a while."

"Well that's good." He shrugged.

"Hey Naruto how long have you known Iruka?" Dakota asked.

Naruto smiled and said "For a long time. Since I was five."

She smiled and said "Wow that's cool. You're lucky. Iruka's really nice." Iruka smiled. Then her own disappeared as she turned to her bowl of ramen. "Just wish I would of been able to meet someone like him when I was little."

Iruka and Naruto looked at her for a few minutes then they turned to their own food. Latter as Iruka and Dakota were walking home he asked "Dakota do you want to talk?"

She new what he meant and was silent for a minute. "What I meant when I said that I wish I had met someone like you when I was little was that maybe my life would have turned out better...that maybe I wouldn't be alone like I am now."

Iruka looked at her surprised. "You're not alone Dakota. I'm here for you."

A warm feeling suddenly flooded through her. No one had ever cared for her before. "Thanks." She said softly.

"When you want to talk just come to me OK?"

"I will."


	5. Wounds

**The Escape**

**Authoress note:** Me again. I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. I think this one's a little longer than the others but not by much. Once again thanks to all my reviewers. They make me feel like my writing is worth something so thanks again. I have a question. Why don't people leave reviews? just wondering cause I got a ton of hits for this story but only a few reviews...oh well. Sorry it took so long to update. Enjoy and R and R please!

* * *

Latter that night Dakota awoke in a cold sweat. She'd had another nightmare. Shaking she stumbled out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face and it felt wonderful. Looking in to the mirror she saw that she was deathly pale. Sighing she made her way back to her room and laid down. 

These nightmares were really starting to upset her. It was usually the same one about the attack before she came to this world. Dakota spent the rest of the night tossing and turning unable to sleep. By the time she sat down at the table for breakfast she was exhausted.

"Dakota why don't you stay home today?" Iruka suggested after she nodded off with her chopsticks half way to her mouth.

She shook her head no and said "No...I'm OK."

"If you say so."

------

In class she struggled to stay awake but after a few hours she lost the fight. It had been the last thing she wanted because she feared she would have the nightmare again. Though luckily for her she didn't.

The next thing she new she was being shaken awake by Naruto. Groaning she opened her eyes and saw his face was level with hers. "Hey sleepy head it's time for lunch." Dakota sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Jeez Dakota you look exhausted."

"So Naruto you wanna have lunch with me?" She asked quickly changing the subject.

He smiled and said "Sure." They went out to sit down under the tree that had the swing tied to one of it's branches. They ate in silence for a while before Naruto spoke. "Hey Dakota I was wondering how you got hurt."

She stiffened then turned to look at him. "It was an accident." she lied.

Naruto shook his head and said "You're lying. You don't get those kinds of wounds from an accident."

Dakota looked up in to his eyes. "Please Naruto I don't want to talk about it." He saw a great deal of pain in her strange tri colored eyes. He nodded and she looked away. There was another stretch of silence.

This time Dakota broke the long uncomfortable silence. "Why do you want to become a ninja?"

A huge smile crossed his face as he said "So I can become the next Hokage and earn the respect of the people of the village."

"Hokage huh? Well...I bet if you worked really hard you could do it."

"Thanks!" He said smiling even wider. They chatted about the lesson so far that day and when they finished they still had sometime before they had to go to class. "You wanna go and walk around?"

Dakota smiled and said "Sure that sounds nice." She got to her feet and they headed off. A few minutes latter Dakota saw something come flying towards her.

Her eyes widened and the object smacked in to her chest. She gasped in pain since the object collided with one of her more serious wounds. Then she felt something lick her cheek. Blinking she looked down and saw she was holding Akamaru in her arms (She'd unconsciously grabbed him when he landed on her).All this had happened in a matter of seconds.

"Hey you OK Dakota?" Naruto asked worried. She nodded and looked down at the pup she held in her arms. "Damn Kiba do you have to take that mutt where ever you go!" Naruto said angrily as the boy approached.

He glared at Naruto and said "Why don't you shut up."

"No that mutt of yours hurt Dakota." Both boys continued to glare at each other.

Sensing a fight was about to break out Dakota said "Come on guys calm down. Akamaru just surprised me is all."

Kiba looked at her and said "I'm sorry he doesn't usually act like this."

"It's OK I don't mind." Holding the pup up so it faced her she said "You Akamaru have to be the most agile dog I've ever seen." The pup wagged it's tail in response.

"Is everything OK?" A timid voice asked. Everyone turned to see a girl had appeared behind Kiba.

Before Naruto could say anything Dakota smiled and said "Yeah Akamaru just came to say hi." The girl nodded then a second latter she gasped.

"What's wrong Hinata?" Kiba asked the girl.

"She's bleeding."

"Huh?" Dakota asked confused. Hinata pointed to her chest. Dakota looked and saw a good sized red stain had appeared on her shirt. 'Oh man...' She thought.

Suddenly Naruto lunged towards Akamaru saying "I told you that mutt hurt her!"

Dakota held the pup closer and stepped out of his way. "No he didn't do it Naruto. It was already there." He looked at her confused. "The wound...it was already there. It reopened is all." She explained.

'Jeez how many wounds does she have?' Naruto thought. He already knew her leg was injured. He could tell from the limp and he had seen some bandages sticking out from the sleeve of her shirt.

"You need to clean it up. I'll show you to the bathroom." Hinata said.

Dakota shook her head and said "No I need to go see Iruka."

Iruka-sensei but why?" Kiba asked.

In response she handed Akamaru back to him. "I'll be fine. Really." Then she headed back to the class room with the others following behind. "Iruka." She said as she came to stand by his desk.

Iruka looked up with a smile on his face. "Ah hi Dakota."

Iruka I need your help."

Something wrong?" He asked smile fading.

"Well..."

Then he finally noticed the blood. Iruka jumped to his feet and said in a worried voice "What happened?"

Dakota looked at the floor unable to stand seeing the worry in his eyes and said "It's OK It just reopened."

"Darn it Dakota you know your supposed to be taking it easy. Do you want to be back in the hospital!" He asked angrily. She flinched at the anger in his voice. Seeing her flinch Iruka sighed. "Alright wait here. I'll be right back." He then disappeared. Dakota stayed where she was and didn't move.

"Are you OK Dakota?" Naruto asked worried.

When she turned to look at the others she had a smile on her face. "Yeah I'm OK." The only response she got was Akamarus whimpers. "Oh Akamaru it's OK. Can I hold him?" Kiba handed the pup over and she scratched it behind it's ears but the pup kept whining. She held him up so they were face to face. "Now you listen to me Akamaru." Dakota began in a stern voice. "You in no way, shape, or form hurt me. OK." She finished. The pup wagged it's tail. She smiled and gave him a kiss.

A popping sound announced Iruka's return. He was holding a good sized first aid kit and a shirt. "Come on Dakota." He said heading for the door. She handed Akamaru back to Kiba and hurried after Iruka.

Once they were gone Hinata spoke. "Iruka-sensei's going to take care of it?"

"Why not? He's been doing it since she came to stay with him." Naruto said. The others stared at him and he understood the look. "ACK! No it's not like that! Their like family to each other." He said shaking his head.

"Oh OK."

Meanwhile back with Dakota and Iruka. They had gone to a bathroom (they made sure their wasn't anyone else in it first) and locked themselves in it. "OK Dakota ready?" She nodded then turned her back to him and slipped her shirt off. One handed she unwrapped the bloody bandages while her other hand held her shirt that was coving her. Once she was done she saw it was only the upper part of the wound that had reopened. Luckily that part was above her breasts. "Well?" Iruka asked. She turned and he looked and saw the wound oozing blood. "Alright this is going to hurt." He said before he began cleaning and disinfecting the wound. When the disinfectant was applied she hissed in pain. Then she turned her back to him once more and he bandaged her torso once again.

Ten minutes latter they arrived back at the classroom and saw all the students already seated. The bell had rung five minutes before. Dakota went to her seat and as she sat down she saw Naruto looking at her. He looked worried. She smiled at him then turned to Iruka.

The rest of the day went normally for which Dakota was glad. It seemed she was still to injured to do much of anything and that was really frustrating. Why did it have to take so long to heal? That was a question she had been thinking of for as long as she could remember. Is it to much to ask to be able to heal quickly and not have to worry about getting hurt again the next day?


	6. Nightmares

**The Escape**

**Authoress note:** Hello everyone! I can't believe I've gotten this far. This is chapter um...six. lol sorry lost count :). Anyways thanks again for all the reviews. Oh and some of the characters may seem a little OOC and I'm sorry about it. Like with Hinata. I just don't like her stutter so I kept it out but she's still shy...she just doesn't stutter. Anyways R and R please!

* * *

A whimper came from a small child who laid on a dirty mattress on the floor. The child was curled in the fetal position trying to make herself as small as possible. She laid there hoping the door wouldn't open. That he wouldn't come in. Sadly though as much as she always hoped he wouldn't he always came in to the room. 

The door opened and she buried her face in her arms not wanting to see him. "Get up." Said a cold voice. The child didn't move. "I said get up!" The man said angrily. The sound of a hand smacking on to skin sounded through the room. Whimpering the child jumped to her feet and stared at the floor. "That's better. Now come here." The man said in his cold voice. The girl hurried to stand in front of him. He looked at her silently for a few minutes then a smile crept across his face. "Look at me." He said.

She turned her head up and looked at his face. When she saw his smile she began to shake. 'Please don't...' She thought. In one swift movement she was down on her knees clutching her cheek. Looking up at him she saw his fist flying at her. The child didn't move for she knew that to move would only make things worse.

His fist connected with her stomach and she fell backwards gasping for air. It wasn't until he had kicked her in the head that she started to cry. Her tears streaked down her face and landed on the dirty floor beneath her. Finally he stopped and left the room without a word. Rolling on to her side the girl threw up. When she saw blood mixed in with it she knew she was bleeding on the inside.

Dragging herself to the mattress she had been laying on before she once more curled in to the fetal position. As her vision began to grow dark one thought crossed her mind 'Please...please don't let me wake up this time.' Then she was unconscious and mercifully felt no pain. Hours latter she awoke and when she did she began to cry.

Once she finished she dragged herself to her feet and to the door. It was unlocked and she slowly opened it and crept down the hall. She had to be careful for if she were caught she would be in a lot of trouble. Once in the bathroom she proceeded to clean herself up.

Change Of Scene

An eleven year old girl sat huddled on a park bench. All around her was darkness. What would you expect if you were sitting in a park at one o'clock in the morning? She sat resting before she continued. A few minutes latter she took a deep breath and continued on her way.

The streets were deserted and that was fine with her. The fewer people that saw her the better. With every step she took pain raced through her body and she did her best to ignore it. 'Not much further.' she thought. Twenty minutes latter she stood gasping outside of her destination. Leaning against the wall to catch her breath she watched as a man came out of the automatic doors. 'Now lets get this taken care of.' She thought as she made her way through the doors.

Leaning heavily against the reception desk she looked at the woman who sat on the other side. The woman looked up at her and asked "Can I help you miss?"

"Yes I...I think I've got an infection."

Standing up the woman said "Oh you poor thing. Here come in to the back." The girl followed the woman through a door and down a hall way. "Go ahead and have a seat on the bed and I'll be right back."

The girl sat down and waited nervously. She had to get this done quickly and get back home before he noticed she was gone. A few minutes latter the woman returned with a doctor. "Nurse Kyoko says you think you have an infection." The doctor said. The girl nodded and the doctor said "Alright lets see it."

Slowly and painfully she pulled her shirt off and heard a gasp. "What on earth!" The nurse cried.

Silently the doctor moved in to get a better look. There on her side was a large wound that was clearly infected. "Kyoko go and get some disinfectant and bandages." The nurse hurried from the room. He then went to a cabinet and pulled out some gloves and other items. "This is going to hurt."

"I know." The girl said softly. He then began the painful process of flushing the wound. The girl watched as the fluid washed away the dried blood and puss. She had tried to take care of it on her own but wasn't able to have access to the bathroom often enough so as a result it became infected. The nurse came back in to the room with boxes of bandages and a bottle of disinfectant ointment.

Once the wound had been completely cleaned she was able to see how red and swollen it really was. The flushing process didn't hurt all that much it was the disinfectant that hurt. She screamed as it made contact with the wound. All the while the nurse was standing by writing things down on a clip board. Finally the doctor bandaged the wound and straightened up. "Now tell me how did that happen?"

"I was out jogging the other day and tripped and fell against one of those fences that has the metal spikes on it."

He gave her a disbelieving look. "We all know that isn't true. What really happened?" The girl stuck with her story. Getting frustrated the doctor said "Alright you just lay down and rest for a minute." The girl laid down. Then he turned and left the room.

The nurse then turned to her and began to ask her questions. "What's your name dear?" .

"Shizune Tanaka." The nurse nodded then asked for her date of birth, address, name of parents, and a lot of other things.

"All right Shizune I'll be right back with some medication for you." Then she left the room. While she was alone the girl looked around the room studying it. Kyoko came back a minute latter and handed her a pill and cup of water. She took the pill and the nurse left once again.

The girl waited a few minutes then put her shirt back on and slid off the bed. She went to the counter where the bandages and disinfectant sat and quickly placed the items in her pockets then crept from the room, down the hall, and out of the hospitals doors. The doctor and nurse who were at the front desk didn't notice a thing. She hurried back home knowing there was no way they could track her since she had given them false information. She had done this before so she had gotten pretty good at it.

------

Dakota sat straight up in bed drenched in sweat. She looked around the room and it took her a minute to remember where she was. Then the door opened and she was blinded by the hall light.

Iruka hurried to her side and asked "Dakota what's wrong? I heard you screaming." She looked up at him then before she new what she was doing she threw her self in to his arms sobbing. Iruka instantly wrapped his arms around her. "Shh it's OK Dakota." She continued to sob in to his shoulder. Iruka rubbed her back gently in a soothing motion.

After a while her sobs subsided and she pulled away from him. "I-I'm sorry Iruka."

"Did you have a bad dream?" She nodded silently. "You wanna talk about it?"

Dakota studied him for a minute then deciding she could trust him said "I dreamt about my world...what happened there."

A sad look crossed his face and he said "I'm sorry Dakota I wish I could stop the dreams."

"We both know that can't happen. All I can do is wait and hope they stop eventually."

They sat in silence for a minute then Iruka said "You really did have a hard time in your world."

Sighing she said "You have no idea but I'm glad I'm here. Since I came here the worst thing that's happened was I got a little bored."

Iruka laughed softly. "Alright why don't you lay down and try to get some sleep." Dakota gave him a hug before she laid back down. Iruka stayed by her side until she fell back to sleep at around four thirty.

------

When Dakota woke up again her room was flooded with bright sun light. Groaning she pulled the blankets over her head. 'Wait...it's to bright to be morning.' She thought. Sitting up she looked at her beside clock and was surprised to see it was two o'clock in the afternoon. It was then she noticed the note sitting by her clock. It was from Iruka and it said that he thought it would be best for her to stay home and get some rest.

She had to agree with him. After all she hadn't woken once since she went back to sleep. Iruka was such a nice guy. Stretching she got out of bed and went down stairs to get something to eat. After she ate she went back up stairs to take a shower. Dakota was just coming out of the bathroom clad only in a towel when she heard voices from down stairs.

Knowing Iruka must have brought someone home with him she hurried to her room to get dressed. She was just pulling her pants on when a knock came from the door. "Dakota are you awake?" Iruka asked.

"Yeah I'm getting dressed I'll be down in a few minutes."

"OK." Dakota dressed as fast as she could then brushed her hair out. Then she was finally done. When she entered the kitchen she found not only Iruka but Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata. She smiled when she saw them.

"Dakota!" Naruto cried happily when he saw her and pulled her in to a big hug.

She laughed and said "Hi Naruto." He let her go and she went to the table where the others were sitting.

Iruka stood and said "Have a seat Dakota. Did you eat anything today?"

"Yeah I got up at two and got something to eat." Iruka nodded.

"Iruka-sensei said you weren't feeling to good today. Are you feeling better?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah I just needed to get some sleep."

Naruto smiled and said "That's good cause we missed you at the academy today." Iruka put a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her.

"Hey kiba where's Akamaru?" Dakota asked noticing the pup was gone.

"Uh...truthfully I'm not sure."

"Uh oh….hope he hasn't gotten in to any thing." Iruka said.

"Akamaru!" Kiba called. He then sat there concentrating. "Hm...sounds like he's upstairs."

"I'll get him!" Naruto cried bolting from the room. They heard him running up the stairs then down the hall.

"Dakota I think he went in to your room." Iruka said.

Her eyes widened "He better not have." She said jumping to her feet and hurried from the room.

"Is her room the one at the end of the hall?" Kiba asked. Iruka nodded. "Well Naruto's in trouble now."

The next thing they heard was "NARUTO!"

"Uh oh...better go and make sure she doesn't kill him." Iruka said running from the room. Kiba and Hinata followed him. What they saw in Dakota's room was chaos. There was papers and clothes every where.

"Wow...did Naruto do all of this?" Hinata asked. Right in the middle of the room stood Naruto and Dakota. She was glaring at him and he was looking scared.

"I can't believe it Naruto. I cleaned my room yesterday and now look at it!"

"I'm sorry Dakota really." Iruka glanced down at the floor and at the papers. His eyes widened. They were drawings and from what he saw they weren't supposed to be seen by anyone except her.

One showed a little girl in a corner crying. He knelt down and began to pick up the papers. Kiba moved to help and he said "No Kiba I got it." Kiba gave him a confused look but didn't say any thing. Finally tiered of chewing Naruto out Dakota began to gather up her papers. Iruka had picked up most of them and handed them to her. She made her way to her desk opened a drawer and put the papers inside.

"Don't worry about this now Dakota lets just go back down stairs." Iruka said leading her from the room. Kiba called to Akamaru who was laying on Dakota's bed. The pup went to him and they followed after his sensei. Naruto was the last to leave. Once down stairs Kiba and Hinata left.

"Dakota I really am sorry." Naruto said.

"I know." He left still looking upset. Iruka spent the next hour explaining that Naruto really was sorry and that he was sure he hadn't meant to wreck her room. In the end she was willing to forgive him.

------

The next day Dakota went back to the academy. When she saw Naruto she gave him a smile and went to her desk. At lunch she met him under the tree like usual. He watched as she sat down. "Hi." She said smiling.

He returned the smile. "Um...Dakota..." He began.

She looked at him and saw his cheeks were a little pink. 'Hm now that's interesting.' She thought.

He reached behind him then pulled out a square object wrapped in brown paper. "I...uh...got this for you." She took it and looked at it before unwrapping it. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside. "I...saw some of your drawings and thought I'd get you this so you can keep them together." He said flushing a little darker. It was a sketch book. An expensive looking one for that matter.

She smiled and said "Thank you Naruto that was so sweet." Then Dakota leaned in and gave him a hug and a quick friendly peck on the cheek. His face flushed even more. She then settled down to eat her lunch but it took a while for him to start.

When they were back in class Dakota sat and drew in her new sketch book. She loved to draw because it was a way to express herself in ways she couldn't put in to words. She made sure to keep some of her attention on Iruka's lecture so she would know what was going on. By the time class was over she was finished with the basic drawing. All she needed to do is make a few touch ups and to color it in. She stopped Naruto before he left and showed him the drawing.

"Wow Dakota that's really good." This time her face turned a light pink. The picture was of the two of them sitting under the tree talking and eating their lunch. "I've never seen drawings like these."

"Thanks. It's not finished yet I still have a few things to do. I'll show you when I'm done."

He smiled and said "Yeah I'd love to see it." He handed the book back to her. It was then she saw Iruka behind Naruto and he had a small smile on his face. She quickly looked away from him. "Well I'll see you tomorrow Dakota." Naruto said then he left.

She looked back at Iruka and saw the smile was still there and a look was in his eye she couldn't read. 'What's that look for?' She wondered.

'This is going to get interesting.' Iruka thought.

**

* * *

Authoress note:** OK guys just wanted to clear one thing up. Dakota was physically and emotionally abused but not sexually. 


	7. Reviewrers help needed!

**The escape**

**Authoress note: **OK everyone I need your help. You see in a future chapter I'm gonna have them playing truth or dare. It's just gonna start out as Dakota and Hinata but I'll drag the boys in latter. So what I need are some suggestions. Oh and also the game is starting off in Dakota's room which means it's at Iruka's house. I'm open to all suggestions people! I've got a few ideas of my own but I wanna hear what you guys would like to see. So send 'em in and If I use them I'll give you credit k? Thanks!


	8. Truth or dare: The begining

**The Escape**

**Authoress note:** Hello again everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last update. What took so long was I had already had this chapter typed up but then _dragon of the water_ gave me a good idea for some dares and I had to go back and change some things to make it work. I want to thank _dragon of the water_ for the idea and that I'll use it most likely in the next chapter. Well at least the last part since the first part is already in this chapter lol. I also want to thank _konoka_ and _candle-rain-chan_ for their suggestions and that they should watch out because I'll most likely use them. Well thanks for all the reviews and support. R and R please!

* * *

Time seemed to fly by and soon Dakota had been in this world for several months. During that time she continued to attend the academy and spend most of her time with Naruto. Though Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata would some times join them. As for Iruka, he had become like a big brother to her. She learned quickly that he was very protective of her. 

This had been demonstrated a few weeks ago. A group of older boys had cornered her and were asking her questions and picking on her. They called her a freak because of her eyes. When Iruka saw this he hurried over and yelled at them so loudly Dakota thought she'd go def.

The days were steadily growing warmer and this was driving Dakota crazy since half her body was still wrapped in bandages. "Iruka please!" She cried as she laid spread eagle on the living room floor.

"For the last time not yet Dakota!" He said from the kitchen.

"ARGH! I swear I'm going to go nuts!" She cried.

Iruka appeared above her and said "Stop being so dramatic it's not that bad."

Dakota glared up at him. "Oh yeah? how about I wrap _you _in a ton of bandages and see how you like it." Shaking his head Iruka went back to the kitchen. Under normal circumstances Dakota wasn't one to whine and complain but it had been months now since she had received her injuries. Grumbling to herself she rolled on to her stomach and pulled her sketch book over to her and began to draw.

------

The next morning everyone in the village was jolted in to (or for those who were already up out) of consciousness by an extremely loud cry of happiness. The source of all that noise was none other than Dakota who was currently dancing around the upstairs hall clad only in her towel. Poor Iruka stood dazed from the loudness of her shout.

"Thank you thank you!" She cried.

Iruka snapped out of it when she tackled him in to a bear hug. Laughing he said "Your welcome!" She jumped to her feet and ran to her room. Half an hour latter the two of them were headed to the academy. There were only a few people in the room and one of them was Naruto.

"Morning!" She said happily as she went to stand in front of him.

He smiled up at her saying "Morning Dakota." Then he blinked in confusion. "Hey...something's different about you today...you're not wearing your bandages."

Her smile widened and said "Nope I don't need them any more."

"That's great it means you're finally better." He said smiling.

------

At lunch she stretched her legs out and sighed happily. Naruto laughed as he watched her. Unfortunately though it seemed her happiness was only meant to be short term. She had gone to use the bathroom and met up with Hinata as she was heading back. The older kids who had ganged up on her before appeared in front of them.

'Damn.' Dakota thought.

"Look guys the freak got her bandages off." One said. She glared at him.

"That has to be some of the ugliest scars I've ever seen." Said another. Hinata looked at her with wide eyes.

"What ever." Dakota said as she went to move around them. But they blocked her way.

"So is it true that you were a 'special' servant and were injured as a punishment for not doing what you were supposed to do?" The first asked. The first thing she felt was shock, then sadness, and finally anger.

With out a word she turned to the boy and slammed her fist in to his face. He stumbled backwards with blood streaming from his nose. Everyone except Dakota stood shocked and she took that opportunity to speak. "The next time you say something like that I swear I'll castrate every last one of you." Scared the boys turned and ran away.

"Are you OK?" Hinata asked.

Dakota took a deep breath and felt her anger seeping away. "Yeah I'm OK."

She shook her head and said "Those guys have always been jerks. If Kiba and Naruto had been here they never would have said something like that."

Turning to face her Dakota said "Please don't tell the guys about this."

"Why not?" She asked confused.

"Because then they'll just go and beat them up and that won't solve any thing."

Hinata shook her head and said "Alright but if they do that again I'm going to tell them." She nodded. Back with the guys she acted like there was nothing wrong.

------

That night she sat on her bed and stared at the scar on her leg. Knowing Iruka was down stairs and her door was locked she allowed her tears to fall. She didn't want any one to hear or see her like this. The anger she had felt earlier resurfaced and in an attempt to vent it she grabbed a kunai from the pouch that was laying on her beside table and threw it as hard as she could at the wall. It made a dull thunking sound and she laid down and buried her face in her pillow. She cried herself to sleep and luckily she didn't remember any of the dreams she had.

When she got up the next morning she dressed in her usual clothes which consisted of a tight black shirt that ended about 7 or 8 inches below where a bra ends. Over that she wore a shirt like Sakura's except the slit goes up a little farther. She also wears black shorts like Sakura's. Dakota had spent the time she was willing to allow herself to cry about her scars and she wouldn't do it any more or keep them hidden. True she hated them but they were a part of her and she was going to have to live with that whether she liked it or not.

------

Once home from the academy Dakota spent the rest of the day cleaning her room. Everything was cleaned from top to bottom. Then she moved to the rest of the house. Iruka watched her as she headed towards his room. "Hey Dakota I think I can manage my room myself."

She stopped and looked at him. Blushing lightly she said "Sorry…..I'm just anxious."

He smiled and said "Don't worry Dakota everything is going to be OK."

'He's right' She thought as she got in to the shower a few minutes latter. 'Everything will be fine and we'll have a lot of fun.' Unfourtanelty though fate had been against her for the past few days and that day was no exception. For that night she once more had a horrible nightmare.

Iruka had been sleeping peacefully when he was jerked awake by ear shattering screams. Jumping from his bed he ran down the hall to Dakota's room. He ran to her side and shook her awake. Dakota awoke gasping for air and looked wildly around the room before her eyes landed on Iruka. "It's OK Dakota." He said softly. She instantly latched on to him and burst in to tears. Iruka stayed with her until she fell back to sleep hours latter.

------

When she next awoke it was early afternoon. Climbing out of bed she headed down stairs to find Iruka sitting at the kitchen table grading papers. He looked up as she came in to the room. "Hi." She said as she sat down across from him.

"How you feeling?"

Shrugging Dakota said "Alright."

"You know you should go back to bed you still look tiered."

"No I'm fine. Besides Hinata's supposed to come over."

"I think we should post pone that until you're better."

She shook her head furiously and said "No Iruka. I've been waiting for this for a long time. Please let her come over."

Sighing Iruka said "Alright just take it easy."

She jumped to her feet smiling and said "Thank you!" Then ran upstairs to take a shower. A few hours latter the door bell rang and Dakota raced down the stairs to answer it.

Hinata stood on the porch holding a small bag. Smiling she said "Hi Dakota."

Dakota returned her smile and said "Come on in." She followed her in to the house and looked around curiously.

Iruka then came out of the kitchen. "Ah Hinata you're just in time for dinner."

Hinata blushed lightly and said "Thank you for having me over Iruka sensei." He smiled and led the way to the dinning room. During dinner Dakota noticed Hinata looked a little uncomfortable. She couldn't help it! I mean wouldn't you be a little nervous? How many students stayed the night at their teachers house?

Once they were done Dakota led Hinata up to her room where a futon had already been laid out for her. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better." Hinata said as she sat down on the futon.

Dakota smiled and said "Me to. Iruka almost made me post pone but I talked him in to it."

"So what should we do first?"

"Um…….how about truth or dare?"

"But there's only two of us."

She shrugged and said "So we can still play."

Hinata thought for a minute then said "OK."

"OK then I'll go first. Hinata truth or dare?"

She thought for a moment then said "Truth."

Smiling Dakota asked "Is it true you like Kiba?"

Hinata's face flushed bright red and she said "Uh…..well….a little."

Dakota laughed and said "Come on you like him a lot."

Her face reddened even more. "Truth or dare?"

With out missing a beat Dakota said "Dare."

"Oh….um OK….." She began trying to think of a dare. "I dare you to steal Naruto's jacket." Dakota blinked then opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Iruka's voice.

"Dakota come down stairs please!" He called. Wondering what he wanted she jumped to her feet and headed down the hall with Hinata right behind her. Once she reached the top of the stairs she saw Iruka.

"What's wrong?" He just motioned her to come down. When they reached the living room they instantly spotted Naruto and Kiba. Dakota glanced at Hinata and her face flushed. Remembering what had happened upstairs only minutes ago Dakota laughed causing Hinata's blush to deepen.

"We stopped by to see how you were doing." Kiba said.

Dakota smiled and said "Thanks guys. I'm doing OK." Then feeling Hinata nudging her she turned to look at her friend. Hinata glanced at Naruto and she instantly new what she meant.

With a mischievous smile she winked at Hinata then turned back to the boys. "Dakota what's with the smile?" Iruka asked confused.

Her smile widened as she said "Oh nothing." Then in a flash she tackled Naruto. He fell backwards on to the floor with her on top of him. Then while he was confused she reached up and in one swift movement yanked his jacket off. Jumping to her feet Dakota hurried back to Hinata's side.

Hinata had an amused look on her face. "Wow that was fast."

Mean while the guys were confused. Naruto climbed to his feet and asked "What was that for?"

Dakota looked at the confused boy and smiled. Glancing at Hinata she cried "Run!" and bolted up the stairs. Hinata quickly followed after her.

"Um Iruka sensei what's going on?" Kiba asked.

Iruka shook his head and said "I have no idea."

"Well I'm gonna go find out." Naruto said heading for the stairs.

Iruka watched as the two boys climbed up the stairs and out of sight. He was really confused. Poor Iruka wasn't used to people staying with him and having that person have someone stay the night. Not to mention they were girls.


	9. Truth or dare: New players

**The Escape**

**Authoress note:** Wow I'm glad you thought the last chapter was funny :). You know _dragon of the water_ it sounded like you were gonna pass out lol. I'm glad you didn't cause if you had then you wouldn't of been able to finish reading. Oh and _Konoka_ and _candle-_ _rain-chan_ don't worry I'll use your ideas. I know I said they'd be in this chapter and I'm sorry that their not. Don't worry though cause I think there's gonna be at least two more chapters involving truth or dare. If you have anymore ideas don't hesitate to send them my way. Oh and if you wanna know what the penalty dare for Hinata was in this chapter just ask OK? All I'll say for now is that it was a whole lot worse than the original dare :)._ Fuebi_ you asked me a question a while ago that I kept forgetting to answer. Sorry! Well the answer is...the guy who stabbed Dakota may show up...if he does it'll be several chapters off most likely. Well I hope you enjoy this chappie. R and R please!

* * *

When Naruto reached Dakota's room he saw both the girls collapsed on a futon laughing hysterically. "What's going on?" 

Dakota looked up at him and said "Oh nothing."

Kiba came in and said "That wasn't nothing."

Hinata spoke up in a low voice. "Really it wasn't anything….but if you're angry we're sorry."

Naruto shook his head and said "No I'm not angry. Can I have my jacket now?" Hinata looked at Dakota who was currently wearing said jacket.

Dakota shook her head and said "No I don't think so."

"Why not?" Naruto demanded.

"Cause it's comfy." The boys stared at her. "Now Hinata it's your turn." She said. The other girl looked at her and Dakota motioned for her to move closer.

She whispered something in to her ear and Hinata's face flushed red. She shook her head furiously and said "No please not that!" Dakota shrugged then whispered in her ear once more. "Ack! NO! I'll do the first one!" She cried face bright red.

The boys looked at each other confused. Meanwhile Dakota was trying to get Hinata up off of the futon but the girl wouldn't move. Frustrated Dakota stood up and crossed her arms. "Hinata you agreed to this so you can't back out or else it'll be a whole lot worse."

Hinata slowly climbed to her feet and turned to face the boys. Slowly she looked up at Kiba. His gut was telling him something was going to happen but he didn't usually listen to his guts. To bad for him. "Sorry Kiba." She said not looking him in the eyes.

Confused Kiba began to ask why but was cut off by Hinata. She had reached up, grabbed his shoulders and yanked him down to her level. That was a little surprising but what came next was an even bigger shock. Hinata kissed him. Poor poor Kiba. His whole body stiffened and his eyes widened in shock.

"What the hell?" Naruto cried surprised.

Hinata pulled away and quickly turned her back on the boys. Dakota had a huge smile on her face. "Um….I think it's time that the boys go home." Iruka said from the door way. No one had noticed he had been there. Hinata upon hearing his voice let out a cry and ran and locked her self in Dakota's closet.

Dakota glared at Iruka and said "Are you happy now?"

"If I'd known this was what you were going to do I never would have allowed you to have her stay the night."

"ARGH! You're clueless!" She cried before turning to her closet. "Come on Hinata it wasn't that bad."

"Says you." Came Hinata's muffled reply.

"Actually I'm right you coulda done the other thing…….you know." The door opened a little and Dakota let out a yelp as she was yanked in to the closet. She reached up and switched on the little light that was in the closet and saw Hinata had a smile on her face. "I knew it!" Dakota said happily.

Hinata's smile widened and she said "You know Dakota it's your turn. Truth or dare?"

Once more Dakota picked dare. She wasn't scared. Hinata whispered in her ear and she smiled and said "Done." When the two girls came out of the closet they saw that Kiba was still standing where he had been and looked like he hadn't moved. Iruka and Naruto were trying to bring him back to his senses. Dakota shot the boys a quick smile and said "I'll be right back." She then left the room.

"Hinata where is she going?" Iruka asked.

"Uh…..I'm not sure." She lied.

A few minutes latter Dakota returned. She was holding something behind her back. "Iruka can you help me with something?"

He looked at her suspiciously and asked "With what?"

"Oh just a little problem." Iruka came to stand in front of her and seconds latter he was soaking wet. Naruto and Kiba (who had finally returned to his senses) gaped at Dakota who was now holding an empty bucket.

Glaring Iruka said "And what was that for?"

"Eeek! Don't blame me Hinata made me do it!" She cried then ran from the room.

"Dakota!" Hinata cried and chased after her.

Iruka was mad. He chased after the girls and soon found them wrestling on the front lawn. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Never in his wildest dreams did he think quiet little Hinata would act like this.

The said girl currently had Dakota in a head lock. "Ack lego!" She said.

"No way not until you admit that you lied." Hinata said. That was when the others arrived. So all three guys stood and watched in confusion as the two girls continued to wrestle.

In the end Dakota had pinned Hinata by sitting on her back and holding her arms at her sides with her knees. "Say it."

"Alright I made you do it!" Smirking Dakota got up and helped her to her feet.

"Seriously girls what's going on?" Iruka asked.

Dakota shook her head and said "Man Iruka did you ever have a friend stay over or stay over at a friends house?" He shook his head. She sighed and said "Truth or dare Iruka." All three boys blinked.

"So…..all that was truth or dare?" Naruto asked. The girls nodded. After a few minutes of silence Naruto said "Can we play?"

Dakota laughed and said "Sure but first Hinata and I gotta get cleaned up." They were covered in dirt. So the boys stayed down stairs while the girls took showers. Dakota used Iruka's bathroom so they wouldn't have to take turns.

Half and hour latter they came back downstairs dressed in their pajamas. Since the only other pair of clean clothes that Hinata had brought with her for the next day all she had to wear were her pajamas. So to make her feel a little more comfortable Dakota put hers on as well. They both wore pajama pants and spaghetti strap tops. Hinata's pants were dark purple and her top was white with a purple star on it. Dakota's pants were blue as was her top.

"OK guys lets go." Dakota said as she entered the living room.

"Go where?" Kiba asked.

"My room." Iruka shot her a look but she ignored it. Upstairs the girls sat on Dakota's bed and the boys sat on the futon. "OK who wants to go first?"

"Can I have my jacket back yet?" Naruto asked.

Remembering she wasn't wearing it anymore Dakota dove off her bed to her closet where her laundry basket was. She had forgotten she had been wearing it and thrown it in there with the clothes she had been wearing. Slipping it on she sat back down on the bed. "No. Now who wants to go first?" Naruto glared at her but she ignored it and said "Fine then I'll go first." She looked at each person in the room then stopped at Kiba. "Alright Kiba truth or dare?"

He thought for a minute and decided to play it safe for now and chose truth but when he saw a smile cross Dakota's face he instantly regretted it. "Kiba did you enjoy Hinata's kiss earlier?" Both Hinata's and Kiba's faces flushed. Kiba shook his head furiously. "If you don't answer truthfully Kiba you're gonna have to run up and down the street butt naked." Dakota said.

His jaw dropped in surprise and horror. She just smirked. "Yes." He mumbled.

"What was that?"

Face flushing even more he said "Yes I enjoyed it."

Dakota looked at Hinata and saw she looked like a tomato. "Good job Hinata! I knew you had it in you." She said laughing. Naruto soon joined in with the laughter.


	10. Truth or dare: The end

**The Escape**

**_Authoress note: _**Sorry it's been so long since my last update! Things here have just been kinda crazy. I don't know when the next chappie will be out but there will be another! Um...oh yeah I gotta do a bit of a disclaimer for this chappie so here it goes. I do not own the songs sung by Dakota and Hinata. They belong to the band Sugar Land and are called Time,Time,time (the one Dakota sings) and Fly away (the one Hinata sings). I also don't own the songs that Kiba and Naruto sang. They belong to Steve Wariner and are called Tattoos of life (the one Naruto sings) and For the first time ( the one Kiba sings). Another thing about the songs is I chose these specific one's because to me they had a lot in common with the character who sang it. Hopefully you'll be able to figure out the connection but if you can't just ask OK? Well gotta go now. R and R please!

* * *

Once everyone settled down the game continued. Kiba looked at each person before deciding on Naruto. "Naruto truth or dare?" 

Smirking Naruto said "Dare."

Kiba thought for a minute then a smirk crossed his face. "Alright Naruto French Dakota." Everyone stared open mouthed and wide eyed at Kiba. Shrugging he said "What?" Slowly Naruto turned to look at Dakota and her face flushed red. "Go on. You gotta do it."

'I wasn't expecting this!' Dakota thought franticly as Naruto moved so he was kneeling in front of her his face was as red as hers. "N-Naruto." She stammered but was cut off when he kissed her. Her eyes widened then slowly closed.

Feeling Naruto run his tongue along her bottom lip Dakota hesitated for a minute then opened her mouth. Naruto's tongue plunged in to her mouth and with her heart racing Dakota responded to the kiss. When he pulled away she was left in a daze. 'Wow…that was amazing.' She thought.

Hinata noticing her friends daze nudged her with her elbow. "Huh?" She asked confused. Kiba had a huge grin on his face and Naruto was staring at the floor face flushed bright red.

"Um….why don't we do something else now?" Hinata asked. Everyone else quickly agreed.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked.

Smiling Dakota said "Oh I know! Let's play karaoke." Kiba looked hesitant but the others agreed eagerly. "Alright guys I have the perfect songs for you to sing." Dakota said jumping to her feet. A few minutes latter every thing was set up and it was decided Naruto would go first. Hinata, Kiba, and Dakota sat on Dakota's bed and waited for him to begin.

**oooooooooo**

When you've hitched every highway

And rode all the rails

You're no longer afraid of the dark

You get tougher than leather and harder than nails

When you've earned all the scars on your heart

----

Hobo's and hero's, bankers and bums

In some ways were all the same

We all have to pay for the deeds that we've done

And wind up just dragging those chains

----

Chorus

Life paints a picture that time can't erase

Sometimes it cuts like a knife

Sooner or latter one way or another

We all wear the tattoos of life

End chorus

----

The glory in living

Is just running the race

Not whether you win or you fail

The lines like a road

Will show on your face

And your eyes tell the rest of the tale

----

Chorus

Life paints a picture that time can't erase

Sometimes it cuts like a knife

Sooner or latter one way or another

We all wear the tattoos of life_End chorus_

**oooooooooo**

Everyone stared with wide eyes as he finished. Who would have thought that Naruto could sing so well? "That was a good song." Hinata said.

Dakota smiled and said "You were great Naruto!" He blushed and moved to sit on the bed beside Kiba.

"I'll go next." Hinata said rising to her feet.

**oooooooooo**

Oh, I swear this town gets smaller every day

And I'm waiting for my chance, I'm gonna break away

I'm so sick and tiered of being told what's good for me

People got lots of ideas of who I'm supposed to be

----

Chorus

Angels, carry me, oh so far away

May my body never touch the ground

And if I promise you I'll be back some day

Will you set me free, so I can fly away?

Fly away, Fly away

End chorus

----

Well most folks here, they don't dig to deep

They can't dream to big, 'cause they've got fields to keep

I could walk away and leave behind my family

Or get buried alive in this legacy

----

Chorus

Angels, carry me, oh so far away

May my body never touch the ground

And if I promise you I'll be back some day

Will you set me free, so I can fly away?

Fly away, Fly away

End chorus

----

I wanna sleep under a different piece of sky

I wanna live a little before I die

I wanna be so close to heaven I see angels…

----

Chorus

Angels, carry me, oh so far away

May my body never touch the ground

And if I promise you I'll be back some day

Will you set me free, so I can fly away?

Fly away, Fly away

End chorus

**oooooooooo**

Dakota cheered loudly as Hinata finished. The song she had chosen for her to sing had been perfect! She gave her a big hug as Hinata went to sit down. Kiba stared in awe and Naruto had a big smile on his face. "You have a really nice voice Hinata." He said. Hinata blushed.

"Alright Kiba it's your turn!" Dakota cried.

Kiba shook his head furiously and said "No way I'm not gonna sing!"

Dakota was about to protest when Hinata interrupted her. "Oh please Kiba? It's a lot of fun." Sighing Kiba stood up and went to stand in front of the others. A smile crossed Hinata's face as he did so and when he saw this his face flushed. Taking a deep breath he began to sing.

**oooooooooo**

Are those your eyes

Is that your smile

I've been looking at you forever

Yet I never saw you before

Are these your hands

Holding mine

Now I wonder how I could've been so blind

----

Chorus

And for the first time

I am looking in your eyes

For the first time

I am seeing who you are

I can't believe how much I see

When you're looking back at me

Now I understand what love is, love is

For the first time

End Chorus

----

Can this be real

Can this be true

Am I the person I was this morning

And are you the same you

It's all so strange

How can it be

All along this love grows right in front of me

----

Chorus

And for the first time

I am looking in your eyes

For the first time

I am seeing who you are

I can't believe how much I see

When you're looking back at me

Now I understand what love is, love is

For the first time

End Chorus

----

Such a long time ago

I had given up on finding this emotion ever again

But you're here with me now

Yes I found you somehow

And I've never ever been so sure

----

Chorus

And for the first time

I am looking in your eyes

For the first time

I am seeing who you are

I can't believe how much I see

When you're looking back at me

Now I understand what love is, love is

For the first time

End Chorus

**oooooooooo**

When he finished Dakota saw that Hinata's face was red because the whole time Kiba had been singing he had been watching her. 'That was so sweet!' She thought. Kiba quickly sat down next to Naruto and didn't look at any one. With a huge smile on her face Dakota jumped to her feet and said "OK my turn!"

**oooooooooo**

I was on a fast curve, lost my nerve on a dead end road

I was goin no where faster than two legs can go

Never thought I'd slow down

I'm glad I finally know now

----

Chorus

That's life, if you open up your eyes

You'll find it gets better all the

Time, time, time

End chorus

----

I never really noticed when he moved in to next to me

Sometimes it's amazing just how blind a girl can be

If I weren't busy runnin

I might of seen it coming

----

Chorus

That's life, if you open up your eyes

You'll find it gets better all the

Time, time, time

End chorus

----

Running out of time, I'm running away

I'm running out of ways of running away

Got to slow down, if you don't, you're gonna break down

I'm running out of time, time, time

----

I was cooking dinner, heard a ring at my front door

I opened up and saw him, never felt like that before

The moment that our eyes met I knew I'd never forget

Sometimes the thing you most need is right there, but you can't see

----

Chorus

That's life, if you open up your eyes

You'll find it gets better all the

Time, time, time

End chorus

**oooooooooo**

Dakota smiled at her friends when she finished and asked "Well?"

"That was wonderful." Hinata said smiling.

"You got a nice voice." Naruto said and her face flushed.

Then a knock came from Dakota's bedroom door. "Come in!" She called.

The door opened and Iruka walked in. "OK guys it's almost midnight it's time for Naruto and Kiba to go home."

"Aw alright." Dakota said. It wasn't until they had reached the front door that Dakota handed Naruto his jacket back.

Shaking his head Naruto said "Nah you can keep it for now."

"Really?" She asked happily.

He smiled and said "Yup."

Throwing her arms around him she said "Thanks! I'll take care of it I promise." Face red Naruto turned and left with Kiba by his side.

When the girls finally laid down to sleep Hinata said "That was great Dakota. You picked some really nice songs."

Dakota smiled and said "Yeah I know." Then she pulled Naruto's jacket closer to her under her blankets and smile widening said "Good night Hinata."


	11. A wild storm

**The Escape**

_**Authoress note:**_ I'm baaaaack! (dun dun dunnnnnn!) Eh heh sorry about that! Guess I shouldn't of had that ice cream after all...uh anyways sorry it's been so long since I've updated. As for an excuse as to why it took me so damn long to update I say...it's because I'm making this up as I go along. Meaning none of this is prewritten or thought out really...all I do is write down what comes to me so some times it takes a while...especially since I had to study for some tests for school. I know what you're thinking 'That last part is a lame ass excuse!' well...(sweat drop) I know it is but it's the truth I swear! (cough) well now that that's done...about this chappie! All I have to say is it's really sweet. Well at least I think it is. So go and R and R already people!

* * *

Dakota let out a groan as she fell to the ground exhausted. "Tiered all ready?" Iruka asked as he came to stand over her. Her only response was to close her eyes. For the past few weeks Iruka had been training Dakota how to defend herself. He had decided to do this after she had had another nightmare and she had told him a little about it. By this time Iruka knew that Dakota had been abused for years but he still didn't know by who. So he decided he would teach her how to defend herself in hopes that she would not have to go through another beating. Sitting down next to her he said "You're doing really good Dakota." 

Smiling she looked at him and said "Thanks Iruka. That means a lot to me."

"Wanna get something to eat then head home?"

"Sounds good." Twenty minutes latter they sat at the ramen stand waiting to order. "You know Iruka if I hadn't been so tiered I woulda kicked your butt." Dakota said smirking at him.

Raising an eye brow Iruka said "Oh really?" She nodded in response.

Not long after their food arrived a familiar voice reached their ears. "Hey Iruka sensei, Dakota." It was Naruto. He took a seat next to Dakota and when he saw her face his eyes widened. "What happened?" He asked sounding a little worried.

She blinked then said "Oh it's nothing. I was just sparring with Iruka." During their fight she gotten a little messed up as would be expected and she had a small bruise on her cheek.

"You fight?" He asked surprised.

"Yup and she's pretty good at it." Iruka said.

"Whoa really?"

Dakota blushed lightly and Iruka instantly noticed it. "Yeah I'd say give her another few weeks and she'll be very close to your level."

"Whoa." He said in amazement. He had no clue that she could learn that quickly. The three chatted for a little longer then Iruka and Dakota headed home. As they left the ramen stand Iruka had a big grin on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing really. It's just Naruto seemed to be pretty impressed." Once more Dakota's face flushed and Iruka laughed.

------

The next morning they awoke to a horrible rain storm. Rain was pouring down in torrents. "Are you going to the academy today?" Dakota asked Iruka.

"Yeah but you can stay home if you want."

She shook her head and said "And do what? Stare at the walls all day?" He laughed at that.

By the time they reached the academy the jackets they had thrown on were soaked. There was only a few kids in the room when they arrived. One was Naruto. He never missed a day of class…..well not that Dakota new of. He was always there when she was. The storm continued to rage as the day wore on.

At lunch Dakota and Naruto stayed in the class room with Iruka. While they ate they played cards. "Ha beat you again." Naruto said smirking as he laid down a full house.

"How the heck do you keep doing that?" Dakota asked. That was the fourth game in a row he had won.

Shrugging he said "Dunno. Just lucky I guess."

"How about we play something else and let someone else have a chance to win?" Iruka asked as he gathered the cards together and began to shuffle them. Seconds after he said those words the lights went out. "Shoot. The storm must of knocked the power out." They sat and waited a few minutes to see if they would come back on. When they didn't Iruka stood up and said "Wait here. I'll see if there's any thing I can do." He left and Naruto and Dakota sat alone in the room that was almost pitch black.

Dakota shifted in her seat suddenly feeling a little scared. Normally she wasn't scared of the dark but this time……this time she was scared and didn't know why. Naruto sighed and said "I hope Iruka sensei can get the lights back on soon."

Wrapping her arms around herself Dakota looked to her left where she knew he was sitting but she couldn't see him very well. "Y-yeah me to." She said voice shaking a little.

"Hey you OK?" Naruto asked surprised at the sound of her voice.

"Uh…yeah. Yeah I'm fine." Hearing him move she jumped in surprise when she felt him place his hand on her shoulder.

"You're shaking."

"Oh….um I'm just a little cold." She said quickly. 'How humiliating.' She thought to herself. 'I'm acting like a two year old.' But she couldn't help it. Then feeling something being draped over her shoulders she turned to look at Naruto. She could vaguely see him. Apparently he had draped his jacket over her shoulders.

"There that should help."

Face flushing red Dakota said "Thanks."

Even though she couldn't see his face she knew he was smiling as he said "You're welcome."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes then a huge clap of thunder sounded causing Dakota to jump and cry out in surprise. The next thing she new she was sitting in Naruto's lap. 'What the? How the heck did I end up here?' She thought face flushing once more.

"Hey Dakota…..It's OK." Naruto said sounding very surprised to have her sitting on his lap. What surprised Dakota even more was when he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She was shaking pretty bad by then and not only from sitting in his lap. The fear she had felt was still there and seemed to have increased slightly. "You're scared."

"Uh….n-no it just surprised me is all."

He shook his head and said "No……you don't need to lie Dakota. You're scared and that's alright."

Sighing she said "I…..I guess I'm a little scared."

"Of the storm?"

'Whoa he's pretty intuitive today.' She thought. Shaking her head Dakota said "No…..not the storm."

"Then what?"

"Truthfully I'm not sure….."

He tightened his arms around her and said "Well you don't need to be scared cause I'm here."

A warm feeling that Dakota had never felt before then spread through her. It seemed to extinguish most of the unknown fear within her. Laying her head and his shoulder she said "Thanks Naruto."

Unknown to the two teenagers they were being watched. A smile spread across Iruka's face as he slid the door to the room shut. 'I think I'll give them a few more minutes.' He thought. Ten minutes latter he made noise so they would know he was 'approaching' the door. When he slid the door open and shined a flash light in to the room he saw that Dakota was once more sitting in her own chair but she was still wearing Naruto's jacket. "Lights are out for a while guys so we can head home."

"OK." Dakota said rising to her feet.

As she moved to take off Naruto's jacket he, as he had done a few weeks ago, shook his head and said "No go ahead and keep it."

She blinked surprised then asked "Are you sure? It's really cold and wet out there Naruto."

Smiling he said "Yeah I'm sure besides I have another one I can wear."

"If you're sure." She said as she slipped her own jacket on over his.

"Yup."

Iruka smiled and said "I'm gonna go look and see if there's any one in the halls real fast." Then he disappeared.

Dakota looked up at Naruto silently for a minute then threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. "Thank you Naruto…….you're the sweetest guy I've ever met."

His face instantly flushed bright red but she couldn't see it in the dark. Returning the embrace he said "You're welcome. Just be careful on your way home OK?" She nodded and was surprised that when she was pulling away from him she felt his lips brush lightly against her cheek.

Before she could say a word Iruka called to her from the hall. "Hey Dakota let's go! The storms getting worse."

"Bye." She said then hurried from the room.

Naruto watched her leave then left a few minutes latter. He walked through the rain towards his apartment in only his shirt. He had lied to Dakota when he had said that he had another jacket. But he didn't mind getting wet if it meant she was dry and warm. 'I just wish I knew what had scared her so badly.' He thought to himself as the rain continued to pour down upon him.


	12. Nighttime visitor

**The Escape**

_**Authoress note:**_Whelp here's another chappie! I would like to thank _Sikomi, Elionor, and dragon of the water _for their reviews. Sorry it took so long to answer you question _Sikomi _but here it is! The reason I don't write it down before hand is...I'm making it up as I go along LOL. I also don't usually have time to write it down on paper first so I just type it. And to _Elionor_ I know Naruto was so nice in that last chappie!And last but definitely not least _dragon of the water _thanks I thought it was really kawaii to. Now about this chappie...DAKOTA GETS TO PLAY NURSE! (laughs evilly) LOL now get your minds outta the gutters! Don't deny it I know you were thinkin like that stuff. (Cough) Anyways she does get to play nurse but not like that! You'll have to read to find out what I mean. Well enjoy and R and R please!

* * *

The next day classes were canceled so Dakota decided to go and see Naruto. 'I hope he's home.' She thought as she knocked on the door. No one answered so she knocked once more. Still no answer, she turned to leave but as she turned away the door opened. Smiling she said "Hi Naruto! I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out today." He stared at her silently and Dakota instantly knew something was wrong. "Naruto what's wrong?" She asked worried.

He gave her a weak smile and said "Nothing's wrong."

She looked him over and saw his face was flushed. Reaching out she placed her hand on his forehead and felt it was warm. "You've got a fever."

"Nah….I'm fine."

"No you're not and you're going straight back to bed!" She said pushing her way in to his apartment and grabbing his arm.

"Hey!" he cried in surprise as she dragged him to his room. "Really Dakota I'm fine."

She ignored his protests and shoved him down on to his bed. "Now you stay here Naruto and I'll be right back."

"But-" He began before she cut him off.

"No buts! Stay put or else!" She said glaring at him then she turned and left the room.

Sighing Naruto laid down and closed his eyes. 'I guess walking home with out a jacket wasn't such a good idea.' He thought miserably. By the time he had gotten home he had been soaked to the bone. Hearing Dakota's footsteps entering the room he opened his eyes to see she was holding a bowl. She set it down on his bed side table and picked up a cloth that was in it. She rung out the water then placed it on his forehead. It felt really good….nice and cool.

Dakota sat on the edge of his bed and looked down at him. "How you feeling?"

Rubbing his eye he said "Tiered."

Dakota smiled and said "Well in that case go to sleep." He stared at her and she said "Don't worry Naruto I'm not going anywhere."

'Good.' He thought. He hated being sick and it was even worse to be sick and alone. She stayed by his side until he fell asleep. Once she was sure he was sound asleep Dakota left his room closing the door half way.

She looked around his small living room and was amazed. Only three days ago she had been here and the place was spotless but now it looked like it had exploded. 'Well I guess I could clean it up. After all I have nothing else to do.' She thought. Taking a deep breath she began to clean the living room. After that she moved to the kitchen and discovered he had nothing to eat. "I should go and get him something to eat after I finish." She said. Then she moved on to the bathroom. It wasn't to bad which was fine with her. It was mostly clothes and towels laying on the floor. Making sure to be as silent as possible Dakota then went to his room.

Naruto was still out cold and stayed that way as she moved about cleaning. As she did so she discovered why he had gotten sick. The clothes he had been wearing the day before were in a soaking wet heap by his bedroom door and she hadn't noticed a jacket any where. 'You can be such a dummy sometimes Naruto.' She thought shaking her head. After she finished she went to sit on the couch and rest for a few minutes.

The next time she went to check on him he was awake. Smiling she said "Afternoon sleepy head." He looked at her for a minute then he seemed to remember why she was there. "Feel better?"

"Yeah….actually I do."

"That's good……Hm…..you still have a slight fever." she said as she placed her hand on his forehead.

"Nah I feel better."

"Naruto stop being stubborn. You still have a fever so that means you still need to stay in bed and rest."

"Ah come on Dakota I'm fine."

Glaring at him she said "You're staying in bed Naruto. If you don't it might make you sicker! Is that what you want?"

He shook his head and said softly "No."

"Good. Now I'll be right back." She said turning and leaving the room.

He watched her go silently then felt a wave of sadness hit him as he heard the apartment door open and close. 'She left me.' He thought sadly. Sighing he laid down and thought 'Well what did I expect? Everyone always leaves.' Then he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

He never even noticed that ten minutes latter the door to the apartment opened and closed once more. Dakota took the bags of groceries she had bought in to the kitchen and began to make Naruto some thing to eat. When she finished she placed a bowl on a tray and a cup of orange juice on it as well. When she opened the door to his room she found him laying on his side staring at the wall.

He looked at her surprised. As she set the tray down on the bedside table he said "I thought you left."

"Well I did. I went to get you some food."

"Oh." He said staring down at the bed.

Dakota studied him for a minute then understood. Sitting down on the bed next to him she said "You thought I left you." He didn't look at her. "Naruto I'd never do that to you."

He looked up at her then and asked "Why not?"

A look of surprise crossed her face then she said "Because you're my friend Naruto and I care about you."

"You mean it?" He asked softly.

Smiling Dakota said "Yes Naruto. You're my friend and I care about you so I'll always be here when you need me. I promise." A small smile spread across his face. "Alright then now that that's settled you need to eat." She said standing and bringing the tray over to him.

He looked down at it then said "Thanks."

"No problem." She said smiling as she sat back down on the bed. After a few minutes of studying him she said "I want to ask you something Naruto but I'll understand if you don't want to answer." He looked up at her and she asked "Don't you have any family?" A look shot across his face and she said quickly "I'm sorry Naruto I shouldn't of asked."

"No it's OK. I don't have any family. The closest thing to family I do have is Iruka sensei." A sad look crossed her face as he said this. "What about you Dakota. Do you have any family?"

A distant look filled her eyes as she said "I had a mother but she died when I was little. That's it though." Naruto nodded then went back to eating. When he finished he asked her if she ever got lonely. "Well back where I came from I was always lonely but here…..I'm not. I've got Iruka and you and Kiba and Hinata."

He smiled and said "Thanks for including me."

"Why wouldn't I? You're my friend Naruto."

"You know……I…..I get lonely a lot."

Dakota looked at him surprised then a smile crept across her face. "When ever you feel lonely Naruto you know where I'm at and Iruka to." She said as she gave him a hug.

His face flushed lightly and he returned the hug. "Thanks Dakota……It really means a lot to me to hear you say that."

------

Three nights latter Dakota was sleeping soundly in her bed when a soft tapping noise woke her. Sitting up she looked around the room trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. It was coming from her window. Turning on the small lamp by her bed she got up and threw back the curtains. There on her window sill was Naruto. She quickly opened the window and he slipped in. "Naruto what's going on?" She asked softly so as to not wake Iruka. He turned to look at her and she gasped. "What happened?" She asked hurrying to him.

"It's nothing really."

In the light from the lamp Dakota could see he had a black eye, a large bruise on his right cheek, and his lip was bleeding. "Nothing my ass."

"I'm sorry to bother you."

She shook her head and said "It's no problem but I wish you'd just tell me what happened."

He looked away from her and said "A few villagers jumped me."

Dakota's eyes widened. "But why?" He shrugged. "Alright Naruto stay here. I'm gonna get Iruka." She said hurrying to the door.

Naruto grabbed her arm and said "No Dakota please. I don't want him to know…..at least not yet."

"But Naruto-" She began before he cut her off.

"Please Dakota……I came to you because I don't want to be alone."

She looked in to his eyes and saw a deep sadness and pain. "Alright Naruto but we need to clean your lip up." He nodded then followed her to the bathroom. There she made him sit on the toilet as she gently cleaned the blood from his face. "There." She said as she finished. "I finally got the bleeding to stop."

"Thanks." He said softly.

"You're welcome Naruto." Back in her room he sat down on her bed and she sat next to him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"There's not much to say……I was heading home after some late practice when a few villagers came out of no where and jumped me."

Dakota shook her head and said "Naruto I'm so sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything."

"I know but I….." She was cut of when he pulled her in to a tight embrace.

"Thank you for being so kind to me." He said as he buried his face in to her neck.

Face flushing she said "I'll always be here to help Naruto I swear."

------

The next morning Iruka opened her bedroom door to tell her breakfast was ready and froze in shock. Dakota was sleeping peacefully but she wasn't alone. Naruto laid asleep next to her and seemed to have a firm hold around her stomach. He looked them over carefully and he spotted the bruises on Naruto's face. 'I'll be damned.' He thought. 'He came to her after he was jumped.'

It was surprising since Naruto never went to anyone after he was jumped. Well not since he was little. Now he usually went home and didn't tell anybody. You'd only know when you saw him. 'I'm glad he's found someone he can go to.' He thought as he closed the door.

From what he had seen he knew he could trust them not to do anything. After all they must have been alone for several hours and as far as he could tell nothing had happened. Smiling he went down stairs knowing that Dakota and Naruto would in turn help each other to heal. Heal the emotional and physical pains they have suffered.

* * *

**_Authoress note #2:_** Whelp...I was considering ending the story here...I dunno though. What do you guys think. Lemme know OK? 


	13. Unexplainable fear

**The Escape**

_**Authoress Note:** _Hello everyone! Whelp as you can see I decided to continue. I got so many reviews saying I should keep going that I felt like you guys actually like this story and that I should continue. So here I am! Okies there's some people I wanna thank so here it goes...

-------------------

_**LeweL:**_ They will discover each other. There may be kids in the future not sure yet and there will be butt kicking lol. Well I'll try to make the butt kicking good (cries) but I can't write fight scenes very well... (Sniffle) but I'll try!

_**2stupid:**_ Well...thanks for the review. Not sure what it meant though lol. For your second review...there will be even more good parts to come!

_**Konoka a.k.a. flower:**_ Gah! You had to use the puppy eyes! (Bangs head on key board) I can't help but fall for the puppy eyes! lol and don't worry there will be a happy ending...at least I think so. I haven't thought that far ahead yet lol. Take care!

_**Daewen98:**_ Well it's not a sequel but a continuation. Hows that? lol and now you can find out what happens next.

_**White Alchemist Taya:**_ Well here's your continuation! (winks) and at the end I may even throw in a epilogue! lol.

_**Elionor:**_ It was an adorable chappie huh lol?

_**dragon of the water:**_ Eh...calm down! lol well you'll have to see if she becomes a ninja and what happens to the unknown dude. I'm so mean! (Evil grin)

_**Fuebi:**_ I'm glad you think my story is kawaii...I love it when people tell me that! (Grins like an idiot)

_**Hacker of Souls:**_ (Sigh) You're right...I left a whole lotta unanswered questions. They'll find out soon who abused her... might even be the next chappie...we'll see. Um...I'm not sure yet if I'm gonna make her originally from the Naruto world...I hadn't thought about it much.

_**

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**_

When Dakota finally awoke latter that morning it was to find Naruto was already gone. 'When did he leave?' She wondered. As far as she knew he had been there the whole night. But wait….. 'I'm not sure if it was a dream or not but….I could have sworn I heard him say thank you and then he kissed me.' She thought.

Could that be possible? Could Naruto like her in that way? She didn't know. All she knew was she was confused. Sighing she got out of bed and went down stairs to get some breakfast. Iruka wasn't there but there was a note laying on the table. It said that he had left for the academy and he would see her there. Looking at the clock Dakota let out a small cry. Class had started nearly three hours ago. As fast as she could Dakota ran upstairs and took a shower. Twenty minutes latter she was leaving the house.

Hearing the class room door slide open Iruka turned to see Dakota. A small smile crossed his face and he said "Nice of you to join us Dakota."

Face flushing slightly Dakota said "Sorry Iruka." Then she hurried to her seat in the back of the room. Looking to where Naruto usually sat she saw he was looking up at her. She smiled at him and he was quick to return it. After that lessons continued as usual.

Latter as Iruka was handing her her lunch he said "So you overslept."

Dakota nodded and said "Yeah but why didn't you wake me up?"

A smile crossed his face as he said "Oh well….I thought I'd let you sleep in a little you looked so tiered."

'Wait….does that mean? Oh man he saw Naruto didn't he?' She thought as she saw his smile widen.

Before she could answer he said "Don't worry about it you just go and have lunch. Narutos waiting for you."

Nodding she quickly left the room. 'If he knows then why didn't he say anything?' She wondered as she approached Naruto who was sitting in their usual spot. 'Any normal adult would have gone through the roof if they found a guy sleeping in bed with their teenage female family member. Why didn't he?' She thought.

"Hey Dakota." Naruto said as she sat down next to him.

"Hi Naruto. How's your face today?"

He shrugged and said "It's OK." Looking at it Dakota thought he must have been lying. The bruises looked like they were rather painful. Especially the black eye. Seeing her look Naruto said "Really Dakota it doesn't hurt."

Giving him a look she reached up and very gently ran her finger tip over his cheek. As he flinched, like she knew he would, she said "You don't have to lie to me Naruto." He shrugged in response. Sighing Dakota opened her lunch and began to eat. Why was it that guys thought they had to hide the fact that they were in pain? That was another thing that had confused her for a long time.

"I'm sorry I didn't wake you up this morning."

She looked up at him surprised. This was the last thing she'd thought he'd want to talk about in public. Well she had been wrong before. Smiling Dakota said "Don't worry about it. I didn't get in any trouble."

Laughing he said "Well I guess living with the teacher has its advantages. She smiled in response. Then he stopped laughing and a shy look crossed his face. "It's just that…..well….you looked so peaceful and angelic that I couldn't bring myself to wake you up." As he was saying that Dakota had been taking a bite of her lunch she quickly learned that that had been a mistake. She was so surprised by what he had said that she began to choke. "Dakota are you OK?" Naruto asked worried.

Nodding she reached out and grabbed her drink. After a rather large gulp she finally stopped choking. He looked at her worried. Gasping as she spoke she said "An…angelic? Me?" Narutos face instantly flushed a deep red and he looked away from her as he nodded. 'Whoa….I never thought someone would call me that.' She thought. Then her own face flushed a light pink as she said "Thanks Naruto……that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."

He looked at her surprised. "Really?" He'd figured she'd had a lot of boyfriends back where she had come from.

"Yeah…..no ones ever called me angelic before. Though I've been called other things. Things that weren't so nice."

He looked at her surprised once more. 'Who on earth would say bad things about her? She's nice, and caring and…..whoa stop right there Naruto!' His mind screamed at him. 'You two are friends and nothing more. She'd never like some one like you in that way.' His mind said. He knew it was right. Who'd ever fall for a demon like him? Looking back at Dakota he noticed her mood had changed as did the way she had been sitting.

Instead of sitting Indian style she had drawn her legs up to her chest and was rubbing her arms. "Dakota what's wrong?"

Looking around the area they were in she said "I'm not sure. But suddenly….I feel scared and like someone's watching me."

Naruto instantly looked around the area as well. He didn't see or sense anyone. But she continued to look scared. 'This is just like the other day during the storm. She'd been scared but didn't know why then either.' He thought. Moving closer to her he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said "It's OK Dakota."

She looked at him and said "I'm sorry. I'm just being stupid."

Shaking his head Naruto said "No you're not." They stayed like that until it was time to go back to class.

As they headed back to class a shadow shifted amongst the trees. It watched them as they entered the building. Once the two were out of sight the shadow left the cover of the trees and hurried away from the academy.


	14. A mysterious package

**The Escape**

_**Authoress note:**_ Hi! OK I wanna say thanks to _Fuebi, Hacker of Souls, dragon of the water, and Lewel. Fuebi _I agree with you that dude is a (beep) lol. _Hacker of Souls_...wow you sounded like an owl...who? who who? lol. _dragon of the water_...uh you mean the end was scary? Well I guess it kinda was. _LeweL _I know I luv how I made them fret over their emotions. LOL well I'm sooooo glad you guys are loving this! I don't know for sure but I think there will be some action in the next chappie...either good action (between Naruto and Dakota) or bad action (as in fighting with the shadow dude). I guess we'll all have to wait and see...even me lol. I almost never know what's gonna happen till it happens. Whelp enjoy and please remember to R and R!

* * *

Latter that day after class as Iruka and Dakota were walking home a runner ninja appeared in front of them. He was carrying a small package in his hand. "Dakota Kano?" He asked looking at her. 

Nodding Dakota said "Yes can I help you?"

He held the package out to her and said "This was sent to you."

Blinking in surprise she said "Oh….thanks." Then took the package. The runner ninja then left.

"Whose it from?" Iruka asked.

"I'm not sure…." She said studying the name. It didn't look familiar to her.

"Well open it."

Dakota carefully unwrapped the package and peered inside it. What she saw made her heart stop. Noticing that her face seemed to pale and fear filled her eyes Iruka asked if she was alright. Forcing herself to look away from the contents in the package she said "Y-yeah I'm fine."

"What is it?"

"Nothing really….just some specialty drawing pencils I ordered." She lied.

Iruka shook his head and said "No you're lying."

Closing the package she said "Really Iruka it's nothing." Then she continued on to the house.

Shaking his head Iruka followed after her. 'I've never seen a reaction like that when someone opened a package.' He thought. 'I just wish she'd tell me what it is.' But try as he might he couldn't get Dakota to tell him what it really was.

Once back at the house she went to her room and hid the package in the back of her closet and went back downstairs. For the rest of the day she fended off Iruka's questions saying over and over again it was the pencils she had ordered. Finally frustrated he gave up and went to bed. Dakota though try as she might couldn't fall asleep. She kept thinking about what she had hidden in her closet. Just thinking about it sent shivers of terror down her back.

------

The next day she acted as if nothing had happened but Iruka could tell something was wrong. He was worried. Dakota wasn't just his student and a girl who was staying with him. No she was like the little sister he had never had but always wanted. Because of this he was very protective of her. He didn't like to see her upset or hurting and that was exactly what was happening now.

For if you were to look in her eyes you'd see not only fear but a deep pain. He kept a close eye on her through out lessons that day. Dakota talked and laughed like she would normally do. You'd only notice the problem if you really knew her. One glance at Naruto told him that he could to see that something was wrong and was worried just like Iruka.

At lunch that day Dakota stayed in the class room to eat instead of going out side like usual. Naruto being the kind and caring guy he is stayed in class to eat with her. Half way through lunch Iruka made a rather lame excuse to have to leave in the hopes of Naruto being able to get her to talk.

Once he was gone Naruto turned to Dakota and asked "Dakota is there something wrong? You can tell me."

She looked at him for a minute before saying "Please Naruto not you to. Iruka keeps asking me the same thing. I'm fine."

Shaking his head he said "No there's something wrong. You can tell me what it is….you can trust me."

Suddenly Dakotas eyes filled with tears that streaked down her face. "Naruto…..I'm sorry."

He instantly jumped to his feet and pulled her in to a tight embrace. "For what?"

"For being this way." She sobbed burring her face in to his shoulder.

Confused Naruto asked what she meant. "For being so weak and scared." Came her muffled reply.

He pulled away just enough so he could turn her face up to his. Then looking her straight in the eye he said "Dakota you're the farthest thing from being weak. You've gone through hell in the past and there's no way a weak person could have done that. And like I said before. it's OK to be scared. I just wish you'd tell me what was scaring you so much."

Tears continued to streak down her face as she said "I-I'm sorry……I can't Naruto."

Sighing he let go of her face and allowed her to burry it once more in his shoulder. 'Why? Why can't you tell me?' He asked himself. He just didn't understand. Deciding he had pried enough for the time being he let her cling to him and cry. Which she did for quit a while. By the time she finally stopped she felt exhausted.

Not having slept the night before then crying as much as she had finally caught up with her. She laid her head on his shoulder and dozed until class started once more.

When Iruka came back in to the room he saw Naruto was sitting in the back with Dakota. She had her head resting on her arm and appeared to be sleeping. Though what he wasn't able to see was that under the desk her hand was clinging tightly to one of Narutos. Dakota didn't want to be alone at the moment because she was scared of going to sleep by herself. That was what she had told him. She was scared that if she did sleep alone something would happen.

At home she stayed down stairs not wanting to go in to her room. The fear kept her away until Iruka made her go so she could sleep in her own bed. This time she was able to sleep but she stayed curled in to a ball and had the constant feeling of being watched.

------

The next day there weren't any classes so Naruto, Dakota, Kiba, and Hinata decided to spend the afternoon practicing for the graduation exam that would take place in a few weeks. The others were amazed at how well Dakota did. As far as Kiba and Hinata knew Dakota didn't know how to fight. So they were shocked at how well she did against Hinata.

"Wow Dakota, Iruka sensei was right. You are a good fighter." Naruto said.

Her face flushed as she said "Thanks Naruto." He smiled at that. After she sparred against Hinata she went up against Naruto. (seeing as how I can't write a fight scene to save my life I won't go in to detail…sorry.) In the end she lost but barely. She had sent a punch his way and he blocked it and swept her feet out from under her.

Naruto was helping her to her feet when the sound of someone clapping filled the air. The four looked around to see where it was coming from.

"Over there." Kiba said pointing to a tree. In the shade of the tree stood a man. "Who are you?" Kiba demanded.

The man came forwards a little and smiling said "Oh….I'm just passing through. I saw you guys fighting and decided to stop and watch."

"Yeah well the fights over now so you can leave." Naruto said.

The man shrugged and said "Alright then. Keep up the good work." Then he turned and walked away.

"Freak." Naruto said turning back to look at Dakota.

When he saw her he cried out in shock. She was no longer standing but sat on the ground with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms were wrapped around her legs. Her head was resting on her arms and she was shaking horribly. Naruto quickly dropped down next to her and asked "Dakota what happened?" There was no response.

"Naruto is she OK?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know." He said as he grabbed her shoulders. "Come on Dakota snap out of it!" He said shaking her a little. When she lifted her head they could see her eyes had a distant look to them and were glazed over. Cursing softly he scooped her up in to his arms and climbed to his feet.

"Where are you taking her?" Kiba asked.

"Home. Iruka might know what's wrong." He said and turned to leave the clearing.

Twenty minutes latter they arrived at Iruka's house. Needless to say Iruka was shocked when he saw the state Dakota was in. He quickly took her in to his arms and hurried to place her in her bed. "What's wrong with her Iruka sensei?" Naruto asked.

He shook his head and said "Tell me what happened."

"We were practicing when this guy showed up. We talked to him for a minute then when we looked back at her she was like this." Kiba said.

Iruka looked down at Dakota worried. What the hell could of happened? Hearing the sound of someone crying softly he turned to see it was Hinata. "Don't worry Hinata. We'll figure this out." Iruka said. She nodded but continued to cry. "Kiba why don't you take her home?" He suggested.

"OK." He said softly then led her from the room. They didn't want to go but they knew there was nothing they could do.


	15. Awakening

**The Escape**

_**Authoress note:** _Hi everyone! I just wanna say a quick thank you to my reviewers. _White Alchemist_ _Taya_...lol well don't worry she will open up eventually. You'll just have to wait a lil longer lol. _Fuebi_ you know I like the word uber to lol. I'm glad I was able to keep you on the edge of your seat and that you think I'm a good drama writer. _dragon of the water_ whelp one of your questions will be answered in this chappie...but you gotta read to see which one lol. _Daewen98 _wow you thought it was scary? Huh go figure lol. Well I know what you mean about Dakota havin Iruka and Naruto around to look out for her. It's nice to have people lookin out for you...one of the good uses for older siblings. It's the whole 'I can pick on you but nobody else can' thing lol. That's how my older sisters are anyways. Whelp guys in all honesty I'm not to sure about this chappie...we'll see though huh? I'd feel a little better if I could get my lil sis to read the darn thing! (Glares at her lil sis) But no she's to busy workin on her stuff. Meanie (smacks her with a giant salmon...((don't ask lol)) ). If you guys like Inu Yasha and Fullmetal Alchemist I recomend you check my lil sis's stories out. Here she goes by AkinaWolf. (looks at authoreess note) Wow that's really long this time...well I won't blame ya if you either don read it or read only a little of it lol. Well enjoy and R and R PLEASE!

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A man stood before Dakota glaring down at her. She sat on the floor bleeding and bruised. Looking in to His eyes the only things she saw was hatred and anger. She had never understood why He hated her so much or why He was so angry. All she knew was she had to stay away from Him as much as possible. 

Dakota would only leave her room at night when He was asleep or during the day when she knew He was gone. And she rarely if ever left the house. When she did she would sneak out at night and only if she absolutely had to. There was only one place she went and that was to the hospital. She would try to go to a different one each time so as not draw attention to herself. If anyone found out the truth she would be killed. He had never hesitated to tell her this.

Dakota spent most of her time in her small filthy room. Curled up on her bed wishing for death to finally take her. She had given up on being saved years ago no one cared about her. They didn't care that everyday a young girl was being brutally abused.

Well that wasn't quite right. A long time ago there had been a person who had cared. But she had died and no one else came forward to care about Dakota. She would dream of her past and darkness nearly every night.

Her most prized possessions equaled two and were hidden in her pillow case. If He were to find them He would destroy them right in front of her. If that were to happen she would be beyond help. For she cherished these items.

Slowly the days turned in to weeks the weeks in to months the months in to years. Nearly all of them filled with Him taking His anger and hatred out on Dakota. Emotionally she died. She never experienced happiness, warmth, and love. All that remained emotionally was fear. She feared Him and what He would do the next time He came to her room. (As stated before Dakota was emotionally and physically abused and not sexually) When she would try to defend herself it would only anger Him more.

It wasn't until she was eleven years old that she began to try and get away. Her first attempt led to her being so badly beaten she was unconscious for three days. Two months latter she tried again. Even though she was always caught she continued to try to escape.

Now she sat before Him beaten once more. He never said a word. Just stood there and glared down at her. All around them was nothing but darkness. After what seemed like an eternity He spoke. "Why do you continue to believe you can escape me?"

Swallowing her fear she said "Because one day I will escape. I will get away from you."

The sound of His punch echoed through the darkness. Now she was laying one the ground with pain shooting through her cheek. "Never. You will never escape. I own you Dakota. I will do what I want with you." Fear surfacing once more she closed her eyes.

------

Feeling a warm hand slip in to hers Dakota slowly opened her eyes. She let out a small cry when she saw a face leaning over hers. "It's OK Dakota." Came Naruto's soft voice. Relief flooded through her when she heard it was Naruto and not Him. Looking to her left she saw he was sitting in the desk chair that had been pulled over next to the bed. "Dakota are you feeling better?"

Covering her face with the hand he wasn't holding she said "Yeah….I'm sorry for worrying you."

"No it's OK Dakota. Can you tell me what happened?"

Her mind flashed back to the training grounds then to the dream she had just woken from. Rolling on to her side she pulled his hand up along with hers and placed it over her heart. Closing her eyes she said softly "Alright."

Opening her eyes she watched as Naruto moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Reaching out he gently ran his fingers through her soft hair. While he did this she closed her eyes once more to savor the feeling of his gentle touch.

Opening her eyes she said "Naruto you're the first person I've told this to. Back in my world I had a horrible life. I spent most of my time shut away in a small room. I never left my house unless it was to go to the hospital. You see ever since I was little I've been repeatedly beaten." She studied his face as she spoke and saw a look that was a mix of shock and sadness cross his face. Sitting up she tightened her hold on his hand that still rested over her heart. "Sometimes it would be so bad I'd be unconscious for days at a time. I tried dozens of times to get away but He always caught me. In fact it wasn't until I ended up here that I finally got away from Him. Even then I barely made it."

"Iruka sensei said that when he found you you were barely alive."

"It was late at night and I'd managed to get out of the house. There was a horrible storm that night and rain was pouring down. Not to far away from the house He caught me and I hit my head on the ground. Dazed He took the opportunity to try and get me back to the house but then my head cleared a few minutes latter and I managed to get away from him. I ran as fast as I could. The police station was just a little farther away when he caught me. I tried to get away again but this time he pulled out a knife. I begged him not to hurt me but He didn't listen. The last thing I remember is Him plunging the knife down in to my shoulder and pain shooting through my body. The next thing I knew I was here." By this time Dakota was crying.

Naruto pulled her to him and held her tightly. "Oh God Dakota I'm so sorry." She clung to him and cried harder than ever before. "You don't have to worry Dakota. I won't let anything happen to you I promise."

Looking up at him she said "T-thank you." He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair once more.

A few minutes latter he asked about the package she had received. "Oh that…" She said climbing off of the bed and heading to her closet. A few minutes latter she sat down once more holding the package. "These are my most prized possessions."

"How'd they end up here?" Shrugging she said she didn't know. "Can I see them?" A small smile crossed her face as she opened the package and pulled out a necklace. Carefully he took it and examined it. It looked old and was simple yet beautiful. The charm was a small silver locket with a butterfly engraved on the front. Turning it over he saw there was a name and date also engraved on it. It read 'Serenity 1963'. "This is beautiful." He said looking back at her. Dakota's smile widened as she took the necklace back and handed him the second item in the package. It was a picture. In it was a woman with long silver hair and tri colored eyes, much like Dakota's, that seemed to be laughing. In her arms she held a little girl that was like a miniature her but with short hair. The child's eyes also appeared to be laughing. "Is this you?"

"Yes. That's me and my mother. I was four when it was taken." Looking at the picture once more he saw that the woman was wearing the butterfly locket around her neck. "My mother's name is Serenity and these are the only things left that once belonged to her."

Smiling Naruto placed his hand on her cheek and said "You look exactly like her." Her face flushed lightly from the way he was looking at her. Closing her eyes she leaned in to his hand. It was so warm and gentle.

Warmth spread through her body from head to toe. Feeling something touch her forehead Dakota opened her eyes to see that Naruto had leaned in to rest his forehead against hers. This made it so their faces were inches apart. Her blush darkened but she didn't move away from him. This new feeling inside her felt so good that she didn't want to move in case it broke.

"Dakota you're so beautiful just like your mother. Are you an angel?" He whispered causing his warm breath to brush across her lips.

Her heart began to race. 'Please. Please don't let this be a dream.' She thought. For if it were only a dream she knew she would be crushed and she didn't know if she could handle that. Closing his eyes Naruto closed the distance between them. Her heart seemed to stop beating. His lips were so soft and warm against her own.

'Please Dakota I need you.' (Not in that way! What he meant is like what Iruka said when he found them in bed together) He thought as his heart raced. He prayed that he wasn't making a mistake. That Dakota would like him in the same way he liked her. Relief flooded through him as he felt her responding to the kiss. 'Thank you! Thank you!' He thought as he moved his hand from her face to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer. As the kiss continued Naruto felt like a dark empty place within him was suddenly full and warm. The darkness was chassed away.

When they had to finally pull apart to breath Dakota saw that his eyes were shinning brighter than she had ever seen before. Smiling she reached up and pulled his goggles down so they covered his eyes. "Hey what was that for?"

Laughing she said "Because I wanted to." Then the second he had put his goggles back in to place she leaned forward and captured his lips with her own.


	16. Trouble begins

**The Escape**

_**Authoress Note:**_ (sigh) Well this woulda been up yesterday when I finished it but the site wouldn't let me upload it...so don't blame me! lol well I hope you guys like this one. The story is winding down guys and that means it's almost the end. I can't believe it...lol. Whelp thanks for your reviews and I hope you enjoy this chappie. Please R and R!

* * *

That night Dakota slept in Naruto's arms. Though they really didn't sleep to much. Dakota kept thinking about her past and Naruto thought of how their pasts seemed to be similar in ways. Sighing in frustration she rolled over so she was facing him and saw that he was awake. 

"Can't sleep either?" She shook her head no. He studied her face for a few minutes then said "There's something I want to tell you Dakota."

"What is it?"

"Well I wanted you to know that you besides Iruka sensei are the only person who has truly liked me even before we were friends you were kind to me. Not many people here in the village like me."

She looked at him confused and asked "But why Naruto? You're one of the kindest people I know." She had noticed that when she would walk down the streets of the village with him people would whisper and glare at him and never understood why.

"I was hoping that I wouldn't have to tell you this but keeping secrets isn't a good thing to do. You see thirteen years ago a fox demon named Kyuubi almost destroyed the entire village. Many people were killed and much of the village was destroyed. No one was able to defeat Kyuubi. That is until the Yondaime came up with an idea. Knowing that Kyuubi couldn't be destroyed he decided that the only way to save the village was to seal away the fox."

As he spoke Naruto began to pull away from Dakota. Noticing this she reached out and pulled him back to where he had been. "Don't pull away from me. What ever you have to tell me won't change the way I feel about you."

He looked at her then continued to speak. "The Yondaime knew that Kyuubi couldn't be sealed in an adult. So he sealed it away in a new born baby. But as he sealed it away he lost his life. The Yondaime had hoped that the village would treat the baby like the hero it was but they didn't. The villagers hated the baby and many would have killed him if the Hokage hadn't protected him. As the boy grew he was shunned and hated by almost everyone. They would jump him, throw things at him, and call him horrible names."

As Naruto spoke Dakota began to understand. "Naruto...you are the baby aren't you?" He nodded and she saw the same look in his eyes that she herself had. The look of deep pain and even deeper sadness. "You are a hero Naruto. Even if the other people of the village don't believe it." A sad smile crossed his face. "If the Yondaime were still alive I would tell him that what he did was a good thing."

"A few years ago I found out something else. That the Yodame was my father."

Dakota rubbed his back gently and said "Well then you should be proud of him and I'm sure he's proud of you."

"You think so?"

Smiling she said "Yes. You never gave up and that's something to be proud of."

Naruto's eyes glazed over with tears as he said "Than you Dakota...my guardian angel." She held him as he cried tears of happiness and relief. He had been dreading telling her. Thinking that once he did she would think of him as a demon and hate him like everyone else. But he was proven wrong. Dakota truly was a special person. No matter how much she would deny it Naruto knew that she was indeed his guardian angel and had saved him. Saved him from a life of loneliness and hatred. Sure he had Iruka sensei but still to have Dakota made everything bearable. With her around he could withstand the hatred of the villagers.

A few minutes latter his tears stopped and he showed her the seal upon his stomach. She traced it with her finger and he laughed. Arching her eye brow she looked up at him and did it again. Once more he laughed. A smile crossed her face as she said "I see. You're ticklish."

"No I'm not." He said quickly.

Smirking she once more traced the seal and he laughed. "Yes you are." She kept tickling him until he finally admitted that he was ticklish.

------

The next day it was as if the events of the day before had never happened. Well at least it felt like that. Naruto and Dakota were walking down the street when they ran in to Kiba and Hinata. It took only seconds for Dakota to figure out that something was up.

Hinata wasn't wearing her usual clothes. Now she was wearing pants like TenTen's and a spaghetti strap top. 'Hm...interesting.' She thought then looked to Kiba and saw that he wasn't wearing his jacket. Then it clicked. 'I don't believe it.' She thought smiling.

"Hi Dakota are you feeling better?" Hinata asked.

She nodded and said "Yes a lot."

Hinata smiled and said "Good we were so worried about you."

"Yeah you sure scared us yesterday." Kiba said.

"I know and I'm sorry about that." Then Dakota looked at Hinata and apparently she saw the question in her eyes because her cheeks flushed and she quickly looked at the ground. Dakota smiled and thought 'Way to go Hinata.' "Well um...come on Naruto lets uh...lets go for a walk."

"Huh? But-" He began but Dakota cut him off.

"Bye!" She said then dragged him off. Kiba and Hinata were left staring after them. "Hey can you let go now?" Naruto asked a few minutes latter. She was still pulling him along.

"Oh sorry."

"It's OK but what's with you and dragging me away like that?"

"You didn't notice?"

"Notice what?" He asked confused.

Dakota laughed and said "Hinata and Kiba were on a date."

"What!" He cried in surprise.

"Yup and it's about time."

"Wow...wonder which one worked up the courage to ask the other."

Dakota shrugged and said "I dunno but I'm glad to see it finally happened." Naruto nodded and looked down at her. "What?" She asked. He smiled then leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. Dakota's face instantly flushed...after all he was kissing her right in the middle of a busy street. 'Why here!' She screamed in her mind totally embarrassed but her embarrassment vanished when he pulled away and she saw his face. He was positively beaming.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." She couldn't help but smile. He was so funny and sweet. She was about to speak when she noticed something. Pretty much everyone in the street had stopped to glare at them. Naruto seemed to notice them for the first time and his happy face vanished.

'What a bunch of ass holes.' She thought. Then she thought of something. Looking back at Naruto she watched as he seemed to fold in upon himself as the villagers glares and whispers continued. In one swift movement she threw her arms around his neck and yanked him down to her level (he's a few inches taller than her...I know she's short lol) .

His eyes opened wide and he said "Dakota what are you doing?"

"Remember what I told you last night." She said then tilted her face up and kissed him. This was no innocent kiss.

Several gasps filled the air. The villagers couldn't believe it. How could a girl possibly kiss the demon? Totally ignoring the increase in the whispers Dakota continued on. She moved her hand up to his soft blond hair and even though it didn't seem possible deepened the kiss.

"Holy cow look at them go!" A very familiar voice called out.

Pulling away from the still stunned Naruto, Dakota turned and saw sure enough several kids from their class standing there. Including Kiba, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino and Shikamaru. (If you wonderin why they were around it's cause they were all on dates...Kiba and Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke, and Ino and Shikamaru) The one who had spoken was Ino. "Who woulda thought quiet Dakota would be capable of that."

Face flushing she said "Oh...eh...hi guys." Doing that in front of the villagers is different than in front of people they actually knew.

Kiba smirked and said "So having fun Naruto?"

Dakota looked at him and saw he had finally snapped out of his daze. Smiling he reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said "You bet." Dakota smiled as well. Just being near him made her feel so good. But then something in the crowd caught her attention. Not something...more like someone. Naruto was talking with Kiba when he felt Dakota suddenly stiffen. Looking down at her he saw that she had paled and her eyes were wide. "Hey what's wrong?" He asked. She looked up at him then back at the crowd. "What is it?"

"Nothing." She said softly.

Sighing he said "Come on Dakota you can talk to me remember?"

She looked at him again then back at the crowed. 'NO!' She screamed in her mind. She slipped his arm from around her shoulders and moved behind him.

"Dakota?" Naruto asked starting to get concerned.

"Hello again." Said a male voice.

Everyone except Dakota turned to see who it was. "Hey you're the guy from the training grounds." Kiba said.

Naruto glanced at Dakota then looked back at the man. He was average height with black hair and brown eyes. He looked like a normal person but there was something about him that didn't feel right. "What do you want?"

The man smiled and said "Oh well I just wanted to say Hi."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and asked "Why?"

The man blinked and said "Well no reason really." Dakota held tightly to the back of Narutos jacket and buried her face in his back. "Well now don't be shy. Come on out." At first she stayed put but then slowly moved back to where she had been. "Well now that's better. My my...you've grown." He said smiling. Dakota wrapped her arms around herself.

"Hey do you know him Dakota?" Kiba asked.

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. "Don't be frightened." The man said.

Swallowing she tried once more and this time she was able to speak. "W-what are you doing here?"

Still smiling the man said "Why I came for you my dear Dakota." She shuddered.

"Hey creep just who are you?" Naruto demanded.

"Oh you mean Dakota never told you about me?" He turned his gaze upon her. "My Dakota there must be many things they don't know if you haven't told them about me."

"Who ever the hell you are go away." Naruto said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. For you see I have something for you Dakota."

"What?" She asked in a small voice. With a sickening smile the man reached in to his pocket and pulled out her mothers necklace and the photograph. Her eyes widened. "How did you get those!" She cried.

"I have my ways."

"Give them back to her right now creep. Those belong to Dakota." Naruto said in a dangerous sounding voice as he took a step forward.

"Ah careful. Take one more step and I'll destroy them." He said pulling out a kunai. Naruto froze for he knew how special those items were to Dakota. "Now Dakota." The man said looking back at her. By this time she had tears running down her face.

"Please don't!"

He smirked and said "I knew you'd do what I say if I had this garbage."

"That's not garbage!" She cried.

For the first time the man glared and said "It is garbage now just like it was garbage when your mother owned it."

"Give those back right now." Naruto said. The man ignored him and continued to glare at Dakota.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked confused but received no answer.

"Now Dakota be a good girl and come with me." A small whimper of fear escaped her throat and she took a step forward.

"No don't Dakota!"

"Shut up boy and mind your own business." She continued to slowly make her way towards the man. His smirk widened and said "Good girl. Now we'll go back home and continue with the way things had been."

Then Naruto knew who the man was. "You! You're the jack ass who hurt her!" He cried.

The man shifted his gaze to Naruto and said "Now that's no way to treat your elders." While he had looked away Dakota had run up to him and tried to snatch the items from his hand. "Nice try." He said before he backhanded her. She fell to her knees and stared up at him. "Did you really think you could get away with something like this?" Everyone was to stunned to do much of anything but stare. "Why do you keep trying to get away?" He demanded.

Swallowing her fear Dakota said "Because one day I will get away from you!" As she said these words she remembered the dream she had had. This was almost exactly how it had been.

He knelt down to be on the same level as her and said "Never. You will never get away from me. I own you Dakota."

She shuddered at his words and the coldness in his voice. "Why? Why do you do this? What have I ever done to you?"

The man narrowed his eyes and said "You were born." That hurt. Even more than the beatings. Those three simple words were more painful than a life time of beatings. She lowered her head. He smiled and said "Now that's better."

"Dakota get back up." Naruto said.

She turned to look at him and said "I can't."

"Why not? You're a great fighter!" Kiba called.

A sad smile crossed her face and she said "I know that. Hell I even know I can beat him."

"Then why don't you?" Hinata asked.

Still with the small sad smile on her face she said "Because...he's my father." There were several gasps and quit a bit of murmuring.

"He's your what!" Kiba cried in horror. He couldn't believe it. How could a father treat their own child like that?

Dakota's father glared at her and said "Well now we've wasted enough time. It's time to go."

"She's not going anywhere with you." Naruto said coming to stand behind her.

"I thought I told you to mind your own business." Her father (Gah I gotta give him a name cause typing 'her father' gets annoyin after a while...how about...oh heck...um...Raven) said.

Glaring at Raven Naruto said "If it involves Dakota then it is my business." Raven stood up and looked to the items in his hands. A smirk crossed his face and in one swift movement he brought the kunai down on the locket.

"NO!" Dakota cried in horror. Raven laughed and dropped the locket on to the ground.

Pissed beyond belief Naruto ran at him and tackled him. Raven wasn't expecting this and so he dropped the kunai and picture as he fell to the ground. The two guys rolled around wrestling with each other and ended up several feet away. Dakota didn't notice though. She was staring at the locket. With shaking hands she picked it up and as she did the front part fell off. Then Hinata was by her side.

"Dakota are you OK?" She asked.

"He destroyed it." She said in a stunned voice.

Hinata looked to the ruined locket and said "I'm so sorry Dakota."

Dakota turned to look at Naruto and Raven. They had managed to get to their feet and were exchanging blows. As she looked at Raven it was as if her fear melted away to be replaced by a burning rage. "Hold these for me." She said handing the locket and picture to Hinata. She stood and began walking towards the two guys who were fighting. "Raven...that was the last straw." She said in an eerily calm voice. The boys stopped and looked at her.

"What was that?" Raven demanded.

"You heard me. No more. You will not control my life ever again."

He smirked and said "What are you gonna do about it?" In a flash she was in front of him and had punched him hard in the face. Blood shot from his nose and she knew she had broken it. Raven stumbled back in surprise. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" He demanded.

"Standing up to you." She said simply as she slammed her fist in to his stomach. Naruto backed off and allowed her to fight this battle on her own. "

"Wow I don't think I've ever seen her so pissed." Ino said.

"What's so special about the locket and picture?" Sakura asked.

Without looking away from the fight Naruto said "The locket used to be her mothers and the picture is of the two of them when Dakota was younger." The girls looked at the remains of the locket then at the picture. "There the only things left she has of her mother." Naruto said.

"And he was going to destroy them?" Hinata asked.

"He already destroyed the locket." Shikamaru spoke up for the first time. That was true the locket appeared to be destroyed.

"You will be sorry you ever laid a hand on me." Raven said. He then pulled out another kunai. Dakota cursed softly. She didn't have any weapons on her.


	17. A nightmare is destroyed

**The Escape**

_**Authoress note:**_ Hi everyone! (ducks flying objects) eh...so you guys are still mad about the cliffie huh? Well sorry! It's just that the last chappie and this one were actually a really long chappie so I decided to break it up in to two chappies. Also this is the last one...all that's left is the epilog. I hope you all like this one. It took a while and I tried to make sure it was really good for you guys. Now for thank you's….

daragon of the water...well that was a lot of omg's lol. _T _

runksgirlBlaze27 lol I know a ton of people hate cliffies. I hate them myself...but then I kinda like them to...go figure lol.

...well that was a lot of omg's lol. lol I know a ton of people hate cliffies. I hate them myself...but then I kinda like them to...go figure lol. 

Fuebi well actually I graduated from high school last summer...but don't worry people always think I'm younger than I actually am. For some reason they think I'm 13...GAH! they knocked 6 years off of my life! lol well I'm glad you like the story so far. Also my paragraphs are soooo not perfect! Well format wise they might be but when it comes to things like spelling, punctuation, and grammar I seriously suck at those.

_Bara-ko aka Konoka_ lol I know I love how she kissed him in front of the villagers...shows them exactly what she thinks about their opinions huh? Dakota and Naruto do make a cute couple and as for her father well...lets just say he won't be around for long lol. One more thing if you liked the kiss then you're going to love at the epilog! LOL.

_Hacker of Souls_ I know it was awful when he destroyed the locket...(sniff) poor Dakota. Well she's gonna be feeling better in this chappie.

2stupid I'm glad you liked it! Well that's it...enjoy! R and R please!

* * *

"Hey heads up Dakota!" Naruto called. 

She turned in time to see he had thrown a kunai towards her. In a swift movement she snatched it from the air. "Thanks." She said turning back to Raven.

He lunged at her slashing out with his kunai and she narrowly avoided getting cut. (I apologize for this...seriously cruddy fight scene...I can't write them so bear with me please!) Knowing she had to be careful and pay more attention to the fight Dakota did her best to tune everyone else out. Tightening her grip on her own kunai she lunged at Raven. He dodged her and sent another swipe at her but this time she didn't move fast enough. His kunai cut across her arm. Hissing in pain she glared at him and said "You'll be sorry you did that." A few minutes latter Raven stumbled back with several wounds of his own.

"Damn." Raven said breathing hard. He knew he wouldn't be able to beat her this way. So he began to do a set of hand seals. To Dakota they seemed slightly familiar but she couldn't place it.

"Watch it Dakota!" Sasuke called as Raven finished the seals.

Thanks to Sasuke Dakota was able to dodge the fire that came flying at her. As she dodged she began some hand seals of her own. Before Raven knew it he was surrounded by shadow clones. 'Gotta remember to thank Naruto again for teaching me this.' She thought. As one the clones moved in on Raven who had a look of surprise on his face. While the clones fought with Raven the original Dakota began another set of seals. This would be the first time she got to try this on an unwilling person and hoped it worked.

"What's she doing?" Kiba asked.

"It's her twist on another jutsu." Naruto said. He knew it well for she had used it on him several times. Raven managed to destroy the clones but before he knew it the other jutsu slammed in to him.

"I hope you enjoy that Raven. You're the second person I've used this on. I call this particular version Shadow Illusion." (If there is already a jutsu called that in the show I didn't know and if there's a similar one lets just say Dakota's is a little different)

"Shadow Illusion? She came up with that on her own?" Shikamaru asked sounding surprised. Naruto nodded as he watched Raven. The man had gone rigid and his eyes had glazed over.

"See how it feels Raven. Feel the pain and terror consume you." Dakota said.

"What's he seeing?" Hinata asked.

Without looking away from the man Dakota said "I projected my memories on to him but I altered it so he's in my place."

"You mean he's the one experiencing the abuse?" Naruto asked. Dakota nodded silently. It wasn't until Raven had collapsed to his knees that she ended the jutsu. He sat there with wide eyes and was shaking. "Now you know how it felt." She said. He looked up at her then quickly looked back at the ground. "Remember the feeling. Carry it with you where ever you go." She said as she began turning away from him.

"Dakota watch out!" Naruto and her other friends shouted. Turning back to Raven she saw he was running at her with a kunai. Cursing she blocked it the best she could. Pain shot through her hand as she held him off. She had blocked it from hitting a vital area by blocking it with her arms and hands. So the kunai plunged through her left palm.

"Damn bastard you should of stayed down." She said struggling to keep him from pushing past her arms. To Dakota the next few minutes seemed to be a blur and the next thing she knew Raven was laying on the ground with a kunai protruding from his chest. She couldn't believe it. She had killed him.

Naruto hurried to her side and caught her as her knees gave out. "Don't worry Dakota you'll be alright." He said lowering her to sit on the ground. He slipped his jacket off and used it to wrap around her arm and hand (Both injuries from the kunai were on the same arm). She looked at him and in to his eyes. As she did she felt herself calm down. All her shock and anger melted away and she laid her forehead against his shoulder. Ninja's then seemed to come out of the wood work.

'Figures they'd be late.' She thought.

"We gotta get you to the hospital." Naruto said as some of the ninjas moved in to check to see if Raven was dead. He helped her to her feet and led her away from the crowd that had formed around them. Many people (Mainly villagers) stared in awe and disbelief as they passed. How was it that she had been able to beat him when she hadn't even graduated from the academy yet was what many were wondering. Hinata and Kiba followed behind the two.

At the hospital she was made too sit on a bed and the others were forced out of the room on threat of pain. They didn't want to leave Dakota alone but they had no choice. Once they left the medic nin had her strip off her shirt so he could have better access to her wounds.

The first was on her upper arm and was about ten inches long. Luckily though it wasn't deep and would heal nicely without a scar. Her hand though was a different story. It was a through and through wound. The kunai went in one side and came out the other. There wasn't any serious internal damage. She could still move everything for which she was very happy but it would take a while to heal and she had been given strict instructions to not use it unless absolutely necessary for the next week to allow it to heal a little. That would pose a problem since it was her left hand and she was a lefty. 'Oh well at least I still have it.' She thought.

After she slipped her shirt back on the medic nin allowed the others to come in. Iruka had arrived sometime while she had been getting treated and immediately pulled her in to a tight embrace. "Thank God you're OK Dakota." He said sounding close to tears.

She smiled at him and asked "So did I prove I'm good enough to graduate?"

He blinked confused for a minute then he smiled and said "Yeah I guess you did. Though that was sure one heck of a way to prove it."

"Believe me Iruka I'd rather of taken the test you're going to give." He pulled her in to another quick hug and kissed her forehead then moved out of the way so Naruto could sit next to her. "Thanks for the help Naruto." She said smiling at him.

"Any time Dakota and believe me I mean it." He said smiling.

Iruka was watching this exchange closely knowing something must of happened. He didn't know when but he could tell it was a good thing. Then his suspicions were confirmed a few seconds latter when Dakota gave Naruto a quick kiss and Naruto didn't seem to be surprised about it. 'Well I guess I was right when I said things would be interesting.' He thought.

Latter back at the house they found Dakotas room was a big mess. "Well I guess he couldn't find the stuff at first." Iruka said. Naruto and Dakota had explained to him what had happened on the way home from the hospital.

"Yeah I guess." Dakota said as she knelt down to pick up some papers.

"Uh uh Dakota you know the medic nin said you needed to rest." Iruka said.

"But I'm fine." She protested.

"Enjoy the opportunity to rest while you can." Naruto said as he scooped her up in to his arms and sat her down on her bed.

"Fine."

------

Dakota sighed. She had been in bed by Iruka's strict orders (More like threats) for two days and was going nuts. Wouldn't you? So who could blame her for sneaking out of her room? She dressed and quietly crept out of her room and down the stairs. Dakota had just barely touched the doorknob on the front door when Iruka said "And where do you think you're going?"

Startled she jumped slightly and let out a small squeak. When she turned she saw he was standing there with his arms crossed. "Please Iruka! I'm going crazy." She said.

Sighing he said "Oh alright but I'm coming with you."

"Thank you!" She cried pulling him into a hug. Ten minutes latter they were walking down the streets of Konaha. A few people stared as she went past. It was annoying but there was nothing she could do about it. "Say Iruka...I was wondering."

"Yes?"

"Well do you think Naruto will pass the graduation test?"

Without hesitation Iruka said "Yeah I think he can. Though it wouldn't hurt for him to keep practicing."

Dakota smiled and said "That's great!"

"You know his improvement had quite a bit to do with you." Iruka said. She looked at him confused and he continued. "Well you see...Naruto is really smart but he would slack off and play pranks."

"To get attention because everyone hated him." He looked at her surprised. "Naruto told me a few days ago about why everyone hates him."

"Oh...OK. Well yeah he did that for attention but then you showed up and befriended him. Because of that he began to focus more on learning than his pranks."

"Hm...no wonder he calls me that..." She murmured to herself.

"What was that?"

Dakota's face flushed and she said quickly "Nothing."

"Uh huh...well you wanna get something to eat?" She nodded and they headed off to find some where to eat. They were half way through their meal when Hinata and Kiba appeared by their table.

"Hi Dakota we just wanted to see how you were feeling." Kiba said.

Dakota smiled and said "A whole lot better now that Iruka let me get out of bed."

"We also wanted to return this to you." Hinata said holding out the photograph of her and her mother.

She took it and a small smile crossed her face when she saw it hadn't been damaged. "Thank you...you have no idea what this means to me

Kiba and Hinata looked at each other then back at her. "We have something else for you to." Kiba said holding out an object wrapped in tissue paper.

"Oh...um...thanks." She said taking it. When she saw what was in it she gasped and looked back up at her friends with wide eyes.

"We took it to a jewelry repair shop and they were able to fix it good as new." Hinata said.

The locket was indeed as good as new once more. She jumped to her feet and threw her arms around them and said "Oh thank you guys...this is one of the best things anyone's ever done for me." Akakmaru who was sitting on Kiba's head yipped and licked her forehead. She let them go and Iruka helped her to put the locket on.

After Kiba and Hinata left She sat there tracing the engraving of the butterfly on the locket. Iruka smiled and said "That looks perfect on you." She smiled in response. Dakota was just so happy that the locket had been repaired and that she had it once more. She missed her mother terribly. Ever since the day she died when Dakota was five years old she had missed her and would always miss her but things were better now that she was in this world.

After they finished their lunch they left and wandered through the village for a while. As they did so Iruka pulled her in to a one armed hug and said "You know I'm so glad I found you in the forest all those months ago. Because things have been a lot better with you around."

Dakota smiled and said "I know what you mean. My life changed so much since I've come here."

He kissed her forehead and said "Now lets head home."

------

The next few days passed quickly and Dakota didn't do much but then she was told her hand had healed enough that she would be able to do a few minor things. This made her extremely happy because Iruka would now let her go off with Naruto and practice for the graduation exam. She stood and watched as he practiced throwing his shurikan and kunai.

"I wish I could spar with you." She said sighing miserably.

Naruto stopped mid throw and turned to her. "I know Dakota but you're still recovering." Her answer was an unrecognizable grumble. Naruto smiled and said "Don't worry you'll be back to practicing soon enough." She nodded and he went back to what he had been doing. That's what they did almost everyday until it was finally graduation day.

Almost everyone was nervous and showed it in their own way. Some talked constantly and others sat in silence. Still others paced back and forth. That was what Naruto was doing. "Relax Naruto! You'll do fine." Dakota said grabbing a hold of his arm and forcing him to sit down. Time seemed to slow down then speed up. Finally Naruto was called and Dakota gave him a quick kiss for good luck. As she did there were a few gagging sounds from some of their classmates. Once Naruto was gone she turned to them and asked "Do you have a problem or what?"

One of them who was a boy shook his head and said "We just don't see how you can...kiss him like that."

Dakota glared at them and said "Well then that's your problem. You should learn to mind your own business and grow up." Before they could respond her name was called and she went in to the other room.

Iruka and two other teachers sat behind a desk on which the head bands sat. "OK Dakota all you need to do is create three clones." One of the teachers said.

She nodded and took a deep breath. She was only a little nervous after all she knew she could do this. Then she began the hand seals required for the jutsu. 'Let this work.' She thought. Smoke surrounded her and when it cleared there were three perfect clones around her.

Iruka smiled and said "Wonderful job Dakota. You pass." A big smile crossed her face and she hurried up to the table to retrieve her head band.

"Oh and Dakota." One of the other teachers said.

She stopped and turned to him. "Yes sir?"

He smiled and said "Good job with the fight in the village."

She blinked then said "Oh thank you." Once out of the room she stood and stared down at her head band in shock. She had passed and she just couldn't believe it. Tying her head band around her neck (think like how Hinata wears hers) she hurried off to find Naruto. She found him underneath the tree they ate lunch at. He looked up at her as she approached.

Dakota instantly noticed his head band and smiled. "You passed to!" She cried happily hurrying up to him and hugging him. "I knew you could do it." She said.

He smiled and said "I know...I guess I should believe you when you say that. And congratulations to you for passing to." She smiled in response. Suddenly a nervous look crossed his face.

"Hey what's wrong?" She asked worried.

"Well uh...um..." He began seemingly unable to say a complete sentence. Taking a deep breath he began once more. "Well...I wanted to give you this." He said holding his hand out to her. Resting on his palm was a silver ring. She stared at it surprised. "I-It's a promise ring." He said quickly.

Reaching out Dakota took it into her hands and looked at it. It was a plain silver band but on the inside there was an engraving that read 'My Guardian Angel'. She looked up at him and his face flushed. "Um...well by giving you this ring I promise to uh...be here for you when ever you need me and that...uh...maybe if you're willing to...one day marry you."

Dakota's eyes widened and her face flushed. She couldn't believe it! Looking up at him she saw his blush deepen and he quickly looked away.

Slipping the ring on to the middle finger of her left hand Dakota said "Thank you Naruto. I accept your promise and make one of my own as well. I to promise to be there when ever you need me and that maybe one day we will get married."

"Really?" He asked sounding surprised.

"Of course silly. After all you're the one I love."

A smile spread across his face and he pulled her to him in an almost to tight embrace and said "I love you to Dakota." They stayed like that for a while until they heard the sound of people approaching them. They moved away from each other to see Iruka, Kiba with Akamaru on his head, and Hinata approaching them.

"Congratulations on graduating all of you." Iruka said smiling. "I hope you will remember this day in the years to come." He said.

Smiling Dakota and Naruto had the same thought. 'I'll never forget this day no matter how many years pass.' They thought then looked at each other.

As usual Iruka didn't miss the look or the blush that spread across both Naruto's and Dakota's faces. Smiling he thought 'There are still so many more changes that will come...but you'll all pull through them.'

* * *

_**Authoress note 2:**_ Well I just wanted to talk about the Shadow Illusion jutsu. This is something I came up with on my own but if there is already a jutsu in the show or manga like that then let's just say Dakota's is a little different. She can alter it to make sure it'll be effective on who ever she's using it on and even project her own memories on to the person like she did with her father. Take care everyone!

_**ADDED NOTE:**_ I kept thinking of how my shadow illusion jutsu seemed sort of familiar to something else. Well while reading through my friend _LeweL's_story**Knights of Alcarne: Future of Konoha**I kept thinking of how my shadow illusion jutsu seemed sort of familiar to something else. Well while reading through my friend LeweL's story I realized where it came from. In his story he has an attack known as the pillar attack. It makes it so a person feels the pain they have inflicted upon others. Once I noticed this I realized I had in a way used his attack so I have decided to give him partial credit for the idea of the shadow illusion jutsu. So much thanks to you _LeweL_ for helping to inspire an awesome attack!


	18. How it all ended

**The Escape**

_**Authoress note:**_ Well everyone this is it...the end. Well now for thank yous. I'm glad you liked the ending. Here is the epilog that I said I'd put up. I hope you like iWell everyone this is it...the end. Well now for thank yous. _dragon of_ _the water_ I'm glad you liked the ending. Here is the epilog that I said I'd put up. I hope you like it. _TrunksgirlBlaze27_ thanks for the review! _Hacker of Souls_ I know the whole promise ring thing came outta no where didn't it? lol but I thought it was really sweet._ 2stupid_...I'd continue in to the chunnin exams but I don't know much about them. Only what I've seen on cartoon network and they left off at the ep where their supposed to go in to the forest of death. I dunno maybe once I learn more I'll write more to this but for now this is all. Sorry! _Fuebi_ LOL thanks for the compliments but I am no God. Not even close. I'm glad I inspired you to improve your writing. Now that's one of the best things I can hear that I inspire people(smiles brightly). _Bara-ko aka Konoka_ OK so for teams well...if I continue in to the chunnin exams and stuff it'll be the same teams as in the show but Dakota's on Kakashi'steam. After all their's now an odd number of gennine (did I spell that right? GAH! my spelling sucks...). As for marriage and kids...well if there is going to be that then you have my friend LeweL to thank. He chewed me out when I said I might end it earlier and he was insistent I had to add 'butt kicking' and a few other things. And as for you LeweL even though you left only like two or three reviews (not one for this chappie LOL) I'm gonna thank you and credit you with some of the ideas of this chappie. Well now that's over. There's just a few things I wanna say before I let you get to the story k? First off thank you to all my reviewers (I know I didn't mention you all sorry!). It's because of you all I managed to get this far in my story and actually finish it. Something I rarely do. Also I'm writing another Naruto fic but it has different OC's and I was debating on weather or not to post it. If you think I should let me know k? (sigh) well this is the last time I get to say this for this story...enjoy and R and R please!

* * *

Dakota smiled happily at the sight before her. Naruto laid flat on his stomach in their front yard with their two children climbing on his back. It had been twelve years since he had given her that promise ring. To her it seemed only days. It was obvious that they would get married one day and everyone knew it.

At the age of twenty (that would have made Dakota 21) Naruto proposed to her and they married a year latter. They were so happy together and that happiness only grew a short time after their marriage when she found out she was pregnant. Naruto had been ecstatic. He was finally going to have the family he had never had.

Dakota still remembered the words he had said to her the day their son Aiden was born. He had held the both of them close and said "I promise you Dakota you and our son will have everything you will ever need and I will be by your side. Nothing will tear me away from the two of you. I will be the best father in the world and I swear to you I will be there to see him grow up and to see it at your side. I love you Dakota and I will for all of eternity." She had cried as he had said these words to her because she knew he would do everything in his power to keep that promise. Then two years latter when their daughter Fay was born he told her the same thing.

To this day he has kept his word. True he was a ninja and that meant he had to go away on missions but he always came back. He may have been injured but he always came back to her and their children. It wasn't until about a year after Fay was born that they finally moved out of the small two bedroom apartment they had lived in since they had gotten married.

With the money Naruto made from his missions they had been able to buy a modest two story house. It had four bedrooms and two in a half bathrooms. The best part was that it had a big front and back yard. Plenty of room for Naruto and the kids to play. "So enjoying the sight?" Iruka asked as he sat down next to her.

Dakota smiled and said "Always Iruka." He laughed then asked what she had been thinking. "About the past."

"Which part?"

She looked back to her family and said smiling "The good part."

He knew what she meant. The good part involved Naruto and their children. He shook his head as he watched the three wrestling around on the ground. "I still say that sometimes it seems you have three kids instead of two."

Dakota laughed. Sometimes it did appear so. Naruto could at times act more like a child than the kids themselves but only when it came to playing with them. Other wise he was like any other father stern when needed but always loving. He was also very protective of the three of them.

The two chatted for a while until the sound of crying filled the air. Turning Dakota saw Fay sitting on the ground crying. Rising to her feet she went and scooped her daughter up in to her arms. "What's wrong little Fay?" She asked stroking her soft blond hair.

The little girl pointed to her brother and said "Hurt Daddy."

Curious as to what she meant Dakota went to kneel next to her son who was looking curiously at his father who sat on the ground next to him. "Anything wrong?"

Aiden looked at her and said "Daddy got hurt."

Naruto then looked up and she saw a look of pain on his face. Raising an eyebrow she asked "What happened."

He swallowed and squeaked "It was an accident." Dakota couldn't help but laugh. By the sound of his voice and how he sat slightly hunched over she could tell what had happened.

"OK you two lets go inside and get you cleaned up it's almost time for dinner." She said standing up. As she led Aiden in to the house she looked over her shoulder to her husband and asked with a smirk "Want an ice pack?" He shot her a look and she laughed once more. 'Well that's what you get for playing so ruff…..and not paying attention.' She thought as she helped Fay wash up.

"Is Daddy gonna be OK?" Aiden asked.

Dakota smiled and said "Yes Daddy will be fine honey but next time remember to be careful about that area." The little boy nodded.

------

Latter that night as Dakota and Naruto laid in bed she asked if he was feeling better. He whacked her gently on the arm and said "Ha ha very funny." She laughed softly and he pulled her close so her back was resting against his chest. She sighed happily and he said "You know I don't have another mission until next week how about we go off and spend some time alone together?"

She smiled and said "Sounds nice but who would watch the kids?"

"Well Hinata loves to watch them." She laughed softly. "What's so funny?"

"Well she can't watch them now."

"Why not?"

"Because of something she told me today."

Lifting his head he looked down at his wife and asked "Oh? And what was that?"

Her smile widened and she said "Well lets just say that her and Kiba are going to have their hands full soon."

Hinata and Kiba had finally gotten married a little over a year ago. After finally having heard enough of how wonderful it was to be married from both Dakota and Naruto and that they should get married as well since they were practically married anyways. They just didn't have rings and a certificate but they were living together and had been for a while. Kiba and Hinata had loved each other for as long as Dakota and Naruto had loved each other.

"So….you mean she's pregnant?"

"Very much so." He looked down at her confused and she said "Well she's going to have triplets."

Naruto let out a low whistle and said "Wow I always knew Kiba was a dog."

This time Dakota whacked his arm gently and said "Naruto!"

He laughed then nuzzled his face in to her neck. After a few minutes of silence he said "I guess I can get Iruka to watch the kids."

Dakota smirked and said "Sounds like a plan to me."

He pulled her closer and said "Then we can get to work on another sibling for Aiden and Fay." Dakota's face flushed bright red and he laughed. "Even after all these years you still react like that."

Turning to face him she said "I can't help it." She then buried her face in to his chest.

"That's fine with me really. I think it's cute." In response she kissed his bare chest. He groaned and said "Don't do that." With a smirk that he couldn't see she repeated the gesture several more times. With another groan he flipped them around so she was laying underneath him. "I guess we can get started now." Her face flushed once more as he leaned down and kissed her deeply.

* * *

_**Authoress note 2:**_ Well here's a lil info on the kids...you don't have to read this if you don't want to. I just thought you might be interested in it.Name: Aiden (little flame) Uzumaki

Age: 4

Hair: Silver (like Dakota's)

Eyes: Tri colored Storm gray/ Blue (like Naruto's)/ Silver

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Name: Fay (fairy) Uzumaki

Age: 2

Hair: Blond (like Naruto's)

Eyes: Tri colored Deep blue (like Sasuke's shirt)/ Gray/ Blue (like Naruto's)


	19. A NOTE FOR MY READERS

_**Hey everyone it's me. I just wanted to let you guys know that I've gone back through the story and corrected a whole bunch of the mistakes that I never even noticed. **_

_**Also the layout is different so I hope it's easier for you guys to read now. **_

_**I**__**'m going to go back through the story at least one more time latter to see if I missed anything. **_

_**Again I just want to say thank you for all of your support. **_

_**One last thing before I let you guys go. If you still have any questions or comments feel free to drop me a review or a PM and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. **_

_**Take care everyone!**_


	20. JUST WANTED 2 LET U KNOW

OK so I just wanted to let you know I'm going to post the rest of The Escape 2. So far I've posted four chapters and have gotten 9 reviews. I'm not complaing or anything but it seems that no one seems to really like the story. Or is it that people don't know it's up? I don't really know. Anyways like I said I'm going to post the rest of the chapters. There will be 8 chapters posted. Check them out if you want.

Also there is a third story to this I've been working on. So far there are 8 chapters to it and it's called Broken Promises. If you're interested let me know OK?


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